breaking news. dan: in rodeo, one person is dead. we are told by police the suspect was wanted for stealing a car. that person was driving the white suv that you just saw. the driver crashed into a car at 4th street, killing at least one person. this is happening right now in rodeo. the suspected karst -- car thief is under arrest. our other top story tonight. a blitz of burglaries in chinatown carried out in one night and all within a few blocks. local businesses are walking us through exactly what happened and how it's affecting them. good evening. at least eight businesses were hit overnight into thursday. tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff was stolen. the variety of shops were on or near a stretch of 8th street. a group believed to be involved in the burglaries was captured

on surveillance video. j.r. stone has that and the strong reaction in chinatown. reporter: businesses trashed in oaklands chinatown early thursday morning. eight locations left with broken windows and ransacked by thieves in the process who took what they could. thieves who were caught on surveillance video using bolt cutters, a hammer mallet, and reciprocating saw to bust inside. >> it's not safety at all. >> they waited until this restaurant closed at 3:00 before they came in and started ransacking the restaurant. reporter: you can see at least six individuals trying to get inside lounge chinatown, a new restaurant in the neighborhood. the group spent more than 10 minutes trying to break the lock with the bolt cutter and then trying to break the lot with a saw. finally, trying to break it with a hammer. eventually rushing inside. one person with a gun drawn. minutes later, one person can be seen throwing the cash register

in the middle of the floor. a short time later, a person climbs over a counter with what appears to be alcohol. tens of thousands of dollars worth of items stolen. 36 grand at lounge chinatown alone. >> it's really outrageous and disappointing when we see these things. people would like to come to chinatown. they are literally destroying our businesses. reporter: people who work there scared but trying to make a living. >> i still need to survive to work. so i still come in even scared. reporter: the chinatown improvement council vowing to add more nighttime security in the area but left searching for answers. there have been no arrests in these eight cases. police say there has been a recent spike in commercial burglary citywide. >> time and time again, w to know what we can do to help. i don't know the answer. >> perhaps the city of oakland

and oakland police department could deploy more officers in chinatown. dan: fried -- reporter: friday morning, the chinatown community will be coming together for an emergency meeting about this with police. there is a volunteer security crew that patrol the area overnight and the initial thought going forward is to add an additional patrol crew in those note -- overnight hours. j.r. stone, abc 7 news. dan: public safety is something we are always monitoring in a fact-based way using our abc 7 neighborhood safety tractor. archewell helps you explore and understand the data. you can see how different forms of crime rate down by neighborhood over time and compared to other cities. it's right on the front page of our website for you, abc7news.com. a very sad outcome for fans of longtime bay area radio personality jv of wild 94.9. his body was found at pier 39

last night, a month after he vanished. this morning, his cohosts struggled as they face the news. >> looking at his picture on the website just reminds you of the better times. >> he was healthy and happy. that's how i'm going to continue to remember him. dan: jeff vandergrift started his own radio show called the doghouse. in its three decades, it became the highest rated radio morning show in san francisco radio history. >> the show is awesome. i remember the doghouse way back in the day. just listening to it as a kid, laughing all the time. dan: in 2021, he opened up about his struggle with lyme disease. when he disappeared a month ago, he left behind signs that he would not be coming home. he was 55 years old. all of us who know him know him

as a good dive -guy. there are plenty of resources out there if you are going through mental health issues. find a useful list at abc 7.com. for urgent matters, call the national suicide and crisis lifeline by dialing 988. there's a lot of help out there. moving on. tomorrow, teachers with the oakland unified school district are planning what's known as a wildcat strike over their ongoing contract negotiations. a wildcat strike means the walkout has not been authorized by the union. in this instance, the oakland education association. teachers are striking over what they say is bad faith bargaining by the district. they claim the district has repeatedly canceled negotiation sessions. when asked for comment, the school district said classes will continue as scheduled. in los angeles, schools were reopened friday after a massive worker strike for better pay and conditions. let's turn to our storm watch

coverage. sandhya patel is here with what we are seeing out there right now. chilly weather. sandhya: yeah. oh cold front coming through the bay area. a few showers as we had expected. let's check out live doppler 7. you will see where it's wet right now, right around the san mateo county area from portola valley to la honda. we are seeing some showers at this hour. light to moderate in intensity. light around morgan hill. so watch out if you are stepping out later on tonight as the showers will continue to progress. it's a weak front that came through but just enough energy as it lifted up against the mountains to trigger showers. gusts of 35 miles per hour in oakland. gusty wind in associated with the front. temperatures in the 40's and 50's right now. they will fall in the north -- in the north bay. tomorrow morning, you are looking at upper 20's to mid

30's. frost will form and kill sensitive plants. be aware of that. by tomorrow at 6:00, temperatures in the upper 30's. where they will bottom out and when we get rain back in here. dan: thanks a lot. further south, people in paro are being allowed to go home after almost two weeks of evacuation. as neighbors survey the damage, the true cost of the flooding there may come to hit all of us. lauren martinez explains why. reporter: the extent of storm damage to the largest food producing state will come at a cost but it may take some time. >> if an event is going to have a big of -- effect, you will see prices jump up immediately. i haven't yet seen that. reporter: the salinas valley is some of the hardest hit area of recent flooding but the nation's largest producers of lettuce, broccoli, and strawberries.

smith says this could potentially reduce supply across the country. >> many of these crops in the wintertime in california are grown in arizona or mexico. reporter: that means production is available in other locations. that can fill the gap and mitigate a price impact. >> we will pay a few dollars extra for the next couple of months. because of this particular event. it's probably not something that most people would notice. reporter: the exact impact is unknown. the impact of farmworkers is unquestionable. >> my main message is, this is a catastrophe. reporter: center for farm worker families helped 500 people during their food and resource distribution event in watsonville. a board member said the need is overwhelming. >> the drought had an impact on hours available. now with this flooding, it's going to decrease the amount of

employment opportunities for farmworkers. reporter: there will be less fields to work and less basis to live. he stresses the need for more aid. >> the fact is, all the donations from the public will not be able to resolve the situation. we need federal assistance, federal financial assistance. reporter: lauren martinez, abc 7 news. dan: let's go to the north bay now where they are racing to save a famous houseboat that's sinking. we went over the taj mahal and its flooded following tuesday storm. the house vote has -- houseboat has been there since the 1970's but it's now five feet underwater. it's caretaker says they are running pumps and using divers but they just can't keep up. they can't seem to array said. it is likely the tilt will get worse in the house but will have to be demolished which is a shame. bart is taking a step toward

getting new fare gates. the company awarded the contract and will start testing them out at a station later this year. they will be installed systemwide by 2026. the exact design has not been picked. bart says the new gates will cut down significantly unfair -- on fair of asians. a packed house for -- fair evasions. injecting hope explores how a legal safe injection site in canada might just be able to work here. >> you are just another number now. >> i have that hope inside that we can change his people. if you don't have hope, you don't have anything. ♪ dan: tonight's sho tenderloin museum was followed by a really interesting lively conversation with some of san francisco's leaders. there is tara campbell who produced and reported this documentary.

tim johns has a look at how the film is hoping to address the city's challenges. reporter: the lights were on, the mike was ready, the stage set thursday night for community screening of injecting hope. the film from abc7news reporter tara campbell is a deep dive into north america america's first safe injection site in vancouver. a place for people to use drugs under the supervision of a medically trained professional who can help in case of an overdose. >> the idea behind injecting hope was to go up to vancouver and to give people on the ground a look at how safe consumption sites work, the impact they are having on neighborhoods and drug users. reporter: although illegal, california lawmakers passed a bill last year that would have allowed threeo, oakland , and los angeles. it was vetoed by gavin newsom but that hasn't stopped proponents. >> the loss of life san francisco has experienced over

the last three years is twice as deadly as covid, it surpasses anything our city has seen since the aids crisis. reporter: matt dorsey attended the community screening. he supports safe injection sites in the city and believes documentaries like injecting hope help in greater awareness. >> abstinence based programs only work for people that are alive. there's a continuum of approaches that we need to have. reporter: others are more skeptical. grants works with mothers against drug addiction and deaths. she attended the screening and took part in a panel discussion afterwards alongside the supervisor. >> it can have adverse consequences including enlarging the drug feed, nicking it harder for people to get treatment. reporter: injecting hope demonstrates one model but she says others also exist. she points to portugal which has made huge steps in combating its own drug crisis since the 1990's by strongly encouraging drug treatment programs. >> if we can deliver the same

results in portugal, instead of having 640 overdose deaths last year, we would have had for. reporter: he can be seen now on demand on our abc 7 bay area news app wherever you stream. tim johns, abc 7 news. dan: coming up, a deadly drone strike from iranian groups has had a u.s. base in syria. new tonight, the u.s. fires back. controversy in the courtroom. a plea deal for a bay area murder suspect that has now become much more. and a heist at a bay area home depot except this time, police say it was an inside job. all that's coming up.

dan: a u.s. contractor was killed and five servicemembers wounded in an attack in syria by a suspected iranian drum. video captured ambulances racing to the scene. the u.s. responded with an airstrike authorized by president biden on facilities used by groups affiliated with iran's islamic revolutionary guard corps. there are about 900 u.s. troops serving in syria. a home depot employee is under arrest, accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from the hayward store. the california highway patrol showed off some of the items recovered, primarily power tools. the suspect stashed hundreds of stolen items at a home in patterson when they raided the house. they seized about $90,000 in cash. surveillance video led investigators to the suspect. the abc 7 news team was there today for a courtroom stunner

and alameda county. a judge throws out a controversial plea deal by recently elected district attorney pamela price. she offered a man a 15 year sentence for the murders of three people. instead of the 75 years to life that he originally faced. dan noyes was there today as price refused his questions. he has the story. >> any comment? reporter: the district attorney pamela price did not want to talk about judge mark mcgannon throwing out the plea deal she offered to a 31-year-old, accused of gunning down three people on murder for hire. killing a witness set to testify against his stepbrother. instead of the 75 years to life, he -- she offered 15 years. >> i've been practicing law in the county for 40 years. i've never seen anything like this. reporter: bill cole told me it's very unusual for a judge to reject a plea deal approved by both the prosecution and defense

. >> when you are accused of killing a prospective witness in a case, this is a direct attack not just on the people of the state of california but this is an attack on the judicial system itself. reporter: i took this photo of the victims advocate being consoled. she broke down in court reading a leather -- letter from the mother of one of the victims. she wrote, i reject the deal. if he kills again, the blood will be on your hands. he's going to kill again. he offered a brief apology in court for what he called all the destruction i caused out there. in his ruling to reject the plea bargain, the judge noted the das office did not ask lane why they wanted the deal in writing or in person. the judge questioned why the original prosecutor on the case stacy pettigrew was not present. the prosecutor today said he didn't know why pettigrew wasn't there. >> it wasn't his job

not to show up, at least that's what he said. there's a reason why she wasn't there. he couldn't even tell the judge why. reporter: i've obtained this email from that assistant da in court to stacy pettigrew yesterday saying, i just talked to pam at the sentencing. sorry. stacy pettigrew turned in a letter of resignation before today's sentencing. her last day, march 31. one prosecutor tells me wilson not telling the judge is a serious matter. we have an ethical duty of candor to the court. we can fly when asked a direct question. the district attorney would discuss none of this. any comment about this? she later released a statement saying she's disappointed about the plea deal being rejected. now the case will had to trial and justice will continue to be delayed as it makes its way through the court system. the next hearing is on april 5 to set a date for the trial. i'm getting a lot of tips coming

out of the das office and you can reach me through our tip line, our social media. my dm's are open. dan: that's dan noyes reporting. it's time now to turn to the weather forecast. a lovely break today. it's cold out there. sandhya: absolutely. you at least get the weekend to enjoy. it will be cold the next three mornings. get ready. a sign that winter isn't over yet. this is a live picture. this is from zephyr cove. the snow is just coming down. it was just a light snow and then all of a sudden, boom. it is definitely a wintry scene. the sierra nevada getting snow right now. blue canyon andth advisory remas up until 5:00 tomorrow morning. additional five to 10 inches of snow. travel could be difficult.

they are chaining up on all roads. snow level will be coming down to 3500 feet after midnight. live doppler 7, we are still tracking a few showers in association with the cold front as you will notice right around san martin, monterey road, morgan hill. they have been light to moderate . the intensity picked up as the front came in. so seen any change in our drought monitor? this just got updated this morning. keep an eye on parts of southern california. san diego county in particular. notice how the dry category just shrank from last week to tonight. so we are seeing changes. much of california has seen a change in the last few years. it was so bad. we had extreme drought not too long ago. most of the bay area is drought free. the northern part of our viewing area is in the dry category. temperatures right now in the 40's. the cold front has ushered in

cooler air and more cloud cover from our san jose camera. isolated showers tonight. patchy frost. mainly sunny tomorrow. we are looking at a dry weekend. you remember the wind today? tomorrow morning will be breezy at the coast. the wind will ramp up again tomorrow afternoon. 30 to 40 mile-per-hour wind. half moon bay, 41 miles per hour. morning temperatures in the low 30's to mid 40's. combination of fog and clouds. it will be breezy near the coast. wendy at the coast tomorrow afternoon. breezy inland. highs in the 50's. let's fast-forward to the weekend. nice to get outside and enjoy. here comes the storm monday night into tuesday. it does look intense. not as intense as what we saw. we will see gusty wind, rain, heavy at times. continuing through wednesday. rainfall estimaty estimates. one to two inches of rain.

accuweather 7-day forecast. chili couple of mornings with frost over the weekend. milder afternoons. late they storm on monday. tuesday is a two. rain turning over to showers. we alex! mateo, hey how's business? great. you know that loan has really worked wonders. that's what u.s. bank is for. and you're growing in california? -yup, socal, norcal... -monterey? -all day. -a branch in ventura? atms in fresno? fres-yes. encinitas? yes, indeed-us. anaheim? big time. more guacamole? i'm on a roll-ay. how about you? i'm just visiting. u.s. bank.

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dan: one of the most sought after beers in the world goes on sale. the limited release of plenty the younger. it will be available at the brewpub in santa rosa and windsor if you want to brave the long lines. russian river brewing pushed the release back to late march for easier production and people just gobbled it up every year. a busy night from the diamond into the hardwood. chris alvarez is here with sports. chris: coming up, the giants and a's with some spring training tips a week before opening day. fantastic finishes and college hoops. spots in th

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"the doctor will see you now." but do they really? do they see all that you are? at kaiser permanente all of us work together to care for all that is you. chris: the warriors will play tomorrow's home game against philly and a two-game road winning streak. reinforcements could be on the way for sunday's home game against minnesota. gary payton has a chance to make his debut with practice goes well saturday. he was reacquired at the trade deadline but hasn't played a game due to muscle injury. sweet sixteen in vegas. ucla and can saga. bruins led by 13. the zags took a 10 point lead

late. ucla. talk about a big-time three. bruins go up one with under 15 seconds to go. zags fans were sad but turn that frown upside down. las vegas native julian straw for katz's and from deep. zags retake the lead for good and can saga winds 79-76. they will play uconn saturday. another thriller at the garden. spartans down to. under 10 seconds to go. tyson walker, game-tying rocket -- bucket. minute left. tied at 92. marquise nole looks like he's arguing with the coach. it's a fake. johnson scores for the lead. the tournament record 19 assist for him. they play florida atlantic. day, scottsdale. giants, guardians. anthony desclafani got rushedou.

josh bell, deep into the sun. four innings, two homers allowed. ouch. the giants offense was held hitless until the eighth inning. mike yastrzemski breaking that up. giants only get two hits in the game. 10-0 loss. sharks fans, ready to roll in vancouver. san jose looking to snap a seven game losing streak. terrible tune over here. jt miller lights a lamp. connects. sharks are down 2-0 when erik karlsson. final seconds of the first. dakota joshua will beat the buzzer. 3-1. sharks lose. they've lost eight straight. just 10 games left in the regular season. sports on abc seven sponsored

dan: you can watch all of o newscasts live and on-demand through the abc 7 bear yet connected tv app. download

streaming. that's our report. we appreciate your time. for all of us, i'm dan ashley. ha >> from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight, jeff goldblum, teyana taylor and music from jeff goldblum and the mildred snitzer orchestra -- and now! jimmy kimmel! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> jimmy: inc. you! thank you for coming! on the host of the show, thank you for watching, thank you for joining us here in los angeles. i don't know if you saw this, yesterday we had an unexpected visit from a tornado