>> building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. ♪ i'm kristen sze. you are watching "getting answers" on abc7. every day, we talk with experts about issues important to the bay area and we get answers for you in real time.

today in your report says san francisco is uniquely vulnerable to heat and some neighborhoods have worse than others -- have it worse than others. we will talk to climate health now about the new climate resilience report and talk to action. -- and call to action. plus you might have noticed delayed or canceled flights this week may be multiple times, so are the summer travel woes coming to an end? the founder of going.com will be here to offer insights and tips on your rights as a traveler. but first another player for t san francisco meares this year. -- mayor this year. joining us now is a political reporter and author of the california playbook, jeremy white. nice to see you. the office of san francisco mayor currently held by lender mayor breed -- by mayor london bridge is being challenged, who

is this name being tossed around? >> the philanthropist who has been involved in the past with the organization tipping point, doing a lot around homelessness, and as you noted, the heir to the levi's fortune, he has been known to be interested in this for a while, and it is looking fairly likely that he is going to jump in and challenge the mayor at a time when there's a lot of discontent with how the city is being run. kristen: he has not filed any official paperwork yet, right? this is just what friends are telling people? >> correct. there was a report in the san francisco standard saying he had made his mind up and this is something that folks in san francisco political circles have been talking about for quite a while. i think that people recognize that mayor breed is in a bit of a moldable position right now -- vulnerable position right now and that's increased the interest among potential contenders. kristen: let's talk a little bit more about the levi strauss family. of course i assume he's well-funded.

perhaps that is helpful in politics do not have to go after other people's money. but he is well-connected as well. as in he good friends with governor newsom? >> his wife is one of governor newsom's oldest confidantes, she's currently the director of particle and worked with him in the mayor's office, so certainly somebody who has existed in those sort of verified san francisco political circles. we will see how much that comes to bear in a mayoral contest. mayor london breed has her own ties to the governor and various other folks in the late san francisco -- in elite san francisco political circles. kristen: let's get into more about him, aside from the woes the mayor is facing right now, but the nonprofit tipping point community, how does it do its work? what ha its impact been? is it something he can run out? >> his organization spent a fair amount of money on a fairly audacious pledge to

significantly reduce the number of people living on the streets in san francisco. didn't quite hit that goal. and i think that is something that i have no doubt, if he does run, he will be questioned on. because i think, as you and your viewers know, there are a few issues that really sort of crystallize voter frustration, like homelessness in san francisco. certainly somebody who has been typically involved in has worked -- and has worked to channel money to deal with some of san francisco's most pressing causes, but it is safe to assume he will face questions about his effectiveness in that area. kristen: i think it was over the navigation beds that he was out in, that he had mayor breed made a joint appearance, she held a news conference a few years ago and he stood right behind her, which is kind of interesting. right there. look at this chart. interesting. if she only knew then. [laughter] >> yeah. you know, a lot can change in a

few years. as i mentioned earlier, i think that the mayor's at a time right now where her poll numbers have slid, there's still a lot of flow -- a lot of frustration and there were previous rounds of this in the city where, whether it was a school board members or the former district attorney, jason targeted at other officials. but mayor breed is now absorbing a lot of that and she is up for reelection. when you are in charge in an era of turbulence, then naturally there are some voters who are going to blame you and be looking for somebody else who could potentially do a better job. kristen: can we talk about -- ok, i think the supervisor has officially announced, the only one so far, but we do expect more, right? >> the big question hovering over this race is whether there will be a credible challenger from the left. london breed, very much viewed as sort of a centrist for san

francisco as a candidate. i don't think daniel lurie is seen as the candidate of the left. not really the supervisor. there are some other folks whose names have been brought up, the board of supervisors president, assemblyman phil ting, nearing the end of his term in sacramento. so certainly there are people who have been discussed as potential people. but i don't think there is, in my view, sort of an obvious contender from the left, who progressives have coalesced behind. i think in part that speaks to sort of the state of the left's bench in san francisco right now. kristen: if there is no credible challenger from the left down the middle if you will has several names in there the incumbent, so despite those favorability ratings, and which residents say they are not happy, she is perhaps in a

strong position going into reelection. >> it is hard to say she's not in a decent position going into with those poll numbers, she is still the mayor, the cloud and the visibility that comes with that, and also plenty of allies who helped get her into office and are still going to have her back. so i certainly would not count mayor breed out. but i do think that you could really look at this election as more of a challenge that she has faced during her kristen: you mentioned jason b., the school board members, those were candidates who were more on the left of you will. -- if you will. despite the discontent in the city such as business theft, business is leaving, car theft, drug use, what do residents think we should do more of as opposed less of?

going in a different direction? >> certainly depending who you ask, if you are the type of person who thinks a city needs to be more -- taking enforcement or a stance with drug dealing or getting homeless folks off the street, that is certainly something that mayor breed has embraced. but i think there are some people who, even if they favor that type of approach, don't feel they have seen the results that they would've hoped for. kristen: do you see a shift in the approach that more san franciscans might favor in the past year? and a shifting of political winds? >> you know, i don't know that i've seen specific polling saying people are embracing a different approach per se, but if you look at the polling, there is doubt that concerns about public safety and homelessness are very real, and it's very much something that is on voters' minds. i think san francisco it is still ultimately a pretty liberal place and a place where

folks want to be compassionate, rather than wield a heavy hand when it comes to some of this stuff. but i think some folks are running out of patience on some of the sort of street conditions. kristen: bear interesting. it'll be a election year next year, how might that affect things? >> it's a great question. remember london breed opposed a measure moving the mayoral election to the presidential cycle. it was formerly an off your election -- year election. but they put forward an initiative to move it so it coincided with the presidential year. the mayor characterized it a socialist power grab. but certainly there will be higher voter turnout. that always tends to be the case in a presidential year. so it will be very interesting to see how that affects the selection. particularly given that san francisco's actually really

unusual on that front. because pretty much anywhere else in the country, high turnout elections tend to favor more conservative candidates. but there are some folks who think in san francisco, with a decently organized left, sometimes it boosts them. so it really kind of depends on how that shakes out. kristen: san francisco doesn't always fit into a pattern so neatly, does it? >> that's right. kristen: jeremy, thank you so much for joining us with your insights. >> thanks for having me. kristen: tomorrow, mayor london breed herself is set to join us on getting answers. she will be here in the abc7 news studio for a sit-down interview. we would like to hear what you would like to ask the mayor, so you can share your questions for the mayor with us on any other abc7 social pages. you will want to know -- to tune in around 3:10 p.m. tomorrow for an interview with san francisco mayor london breed. up next, when you think of places unaffected by heatwave, perhaps san francisco comes to

mind, but think again. a new report is sounding the alarm over the city's ability to handle more hot days are becoming more common. widen what can be done --

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new surprises await at the disney100 celebration, only at the disneyland resort. kristen: it was a scorching weekend across the bay area with some areas in land soaring into the triple digits. san francisco's future in an increasingly hot world is somewhat gloomy. a new report shows why the city is not equipped to handle extreme heat, especially in certain neighborhoods. joining us live now is dr. amanda milstein, an oakland-based pediatrician and the cofounder of "climate health now," a group that organizes the

california health community to advocate for equitable climate action. thanks for your time. this report was published by san francisco's office of resilience and capital planning as well as a department of public health and emergency management. though your group is not behind it, i know you follow it closely. what prompted the city to undertake this report? >> the reality is, we all tell and are experiencing our climate is changing. it is getting harder and we are experiencing more and unprecedented heat waves, wildfire smoke events, aj -- and san francisco is unprepared like most of the u.s. and other parts of the bay area. kristen: when they set our heat resiliency is not that great, what is heat resiliency? >> that essentially refers how well prepared we are to keep ourselves safe during times of extreme heat. because we are accustomed to living in a fairly temperate environment, where heat

temperatures into the 90's and 100's are very uncommon, historically have been very uncommon, our bodies are not prepared to handle that. so the implications on our health, especially for people who are already vulnerable, either due to their age or other comorbidities, underlying health conditions, are going to experience that profoundly and in a way that is potentially deadly. kristen: interesting. so which really are historical -- our historical place that making us vulnerable not because we have not had to prepare. let's talk about the neighborhoods. it's real stark, when you look at the map, of which neighborhoods areost susceptible. does this tell us? what are we lookin here? >> we are essentially looking at how different parts osan francisco are going to experience different temperatures even when the ambient atur overall isthe same.

what we are looking at really i, which refers to how hot it gets in a specific neighborhood when the temperature is a specific -- reaches a specific height. heat island effects are the result of th like asphalt infrastructure, concrete, how much tree canopy or lack of shade there is in aneighborhood. none of s by accident. we are talking about urban areas havbeen dd ntionally and structured with factorsike structural racism, redlining, historical and ongoing this thistment in certain neighborhoods have resulted in a specific parts of a city are going to be much more vulnerable to high temperatures than in others. tree canopy for example is much more prevalent in wealthier and generally wider parts of the city -- whiter parts of the city than other parts of the city that are less wealthy. kristen: it can result in a 20°

temperature difference even though the ambient air is the same, just by what's around you, whether you have trees, a lot of concrete, and i assume also the kind of structures -- the older buildings, things like that? >> absolutely, yes. that is all true. especially the tree canopy and shade structure parts are very true. parts of san francisco as well as in other cities across the bay area, in the u.s., there are places where you can walk to where there are no trees, there is no shade to be had. so when the temperatures get very hot, there nowhere to go. that is naturally going to be cooler than in direct sunlight which obviously has direct applications for health. kristen: so of course. the city has come up with a heat and air quality resilience plan that has four main parts, can you walk us through these? what do we mean by this? >> so the

to reduce heat and poor air quality, refers to things like ventilation, how are we able to keep our indoor spaces, having healthy air even when the air quality outside is unhealthy. one really important point to make is, as air temperatures increase, air pollution becomes more potent. which is why for probably many of us in the bay area now who are tracking your quality on our phones, when we see the weather, you may also notice that the aqi, the air quality index, is higher on hundred days because air pollution gets more potent. so adapting buildings to reduce heat and adaptive air quality refers to things like ventilation and how we are keeping the insides of these buildings healthy for people. adapting exteriors and natural environments to reduce heat exposure and poor air quality comes back in many ways to what we were talking about in terms

of spaces with tree canop really bringing in parts of the natural environment to an urban setting in order to more available and make it a healthier environment. kristen: we only have about a minute left, i just want to run through these real quickly. the third strategy, equitable emergency preparedness, response and resilience actions, then four, city services that can predict and adopt accreted related stressors. how are we -- how do we predict? >> well, with climate change, we know that these heat waves are becoming more frequent and more prolonged. whether meteorologists are able to tell us when we can expect these patterns. a lot of this is really advanced warning. how do we get these messages out to residents, especially those that are most vulnerable, the on housed, people were very young -- unhoused, people who are very

young, how do we get this much out in a way -- this message out in a way that they can act on to keep people safe. kristen: at least the city has a blueprint. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. kristen: up next, while weather -- wild weather, cancellations. what can you do if your airline is affected?

kristen: the summer of travel woes continues. in the past week, more than 1300 flights coming in and out of the northeast were canceled due to relentless storms. new york city's were hit hardest along with airlines with a big presence like united, jetblue, and american airlines. although they were certainly not alone. joining us live now is the founder of the travel platform going.com to share some insights and tips. hey, scott. >> thanks for having me. kristen: we get that summer

thunderstorms happen. but the flight cancellations and delays seem crazy. people are saying on social media they were canceled multiple times, stuck for days, offered $2000 or more to get off the plane. what is happening here? >> there's two reasons that a flight gets canceled. there are times when an airline is at fault. think of those meltdowns like southwest over the christmas holiday. and there are times when mother nature is at fault. these thunderstorms we have been seen throughout the summer. i think folks forgive mother nature or at least understand that it's not safe to take off or land in an airplane when there's a thunderstorm or snowstorm happen. but what irks an airline cannot get their act together to operate the schedule they had promised. for the most part, cancellations, which have been pretty widespread the past few weeks, have been thanks to mother nature. now, we will see if the airlines

are able to kind of keep the ship upright, as we get further into summer. hopefully we start to see some better weather and fewer cancellations going forward. kristen: hopefully. one thing i'm seeing a lot of his people saying their flights were delayed several times, for several hours, before the airlines finally pulled the plug and declared the flight canceled. that happened to my friend after sitting on the plane for four hours. that's why people are met. -- are mad. why can't they make the call sooner or be more transparent about the reason? >> most of the time, an airline is not necessarily trying to hide what is going on, they are trying to see, can we get an aircraft in, will the weather clear up to allow flights to take off or land? and then they cancel all hope is lost. but that really underscores a good point. delays happen at a far greater rate than cancellations. as many as 10 times as many delays as cancellations. so that is why one of the best things you can do as a traveler

is actually to book a nonstop flight. because nonstop flights, if delays happen at 10 times the rate, if you get delayed two hours on a nonstop flight, not a huge deal, you just arrived two hours late, versus if you get delayed two hours because of a thunderstorm on a connecting flight, you might end up missing your connection, then you have to wait a potentially long time until the next available flight. kristen: yeah. that's actually one of the tips that you gave -- i think you sent out a newsletter today. i saw it. that's what prompted me to think, these are things that our viewers need to know. i'm just going to put it out there. here are your travel tips. give yourself more time, travel early, but nonstop flights, pack, and download the airline app. any of these that you want to elaborate or give an additional hint to how to do this right? >> one i want to emphasize is travel early. when you pour through the data, it turns out that first flights of the morning arrive on time. about 25 percentage point rate

higher than afternoon or evening flights. the reason why is not just because of whether being better in the morning -- weather being better in the morning then the afternoon or evening but also because aircraft is already at the airport, it's been a parked there overnight, versus in the afternoon, it's got to come in from elsewhere, and if there's thunderstorms in chicago, even if the weather's great in the bay area, your flight might end up getting canceled because your aircraft was never able to leave chicago. kristen: good advice there. i want to ask you about tracking your luggage, because i got number still gets lost -- a good number still get lost. my friend, and this is very interesting, would you suggest this? she put an airtight on her son's luggage. i want to show you how funny this is. -- air tag on her son's luggage. i want to show you how funny this is. they put their luggage on a different flight from the one that they were on. they were in l.a. while their

suitcase was in utah. >> that is one of those things that is both frustrating when you see what happens sometimes with your checked luggage. also a little bit to know, it is somewhere, i can see where it is, i can help kind of guide the airline towards where my bag is. [laughter] kristen: should we put air tags on, you think? >> if you've got them, certainly use them. they tend to be pretty cheap. you can get four for as little as $25 nowadays. it is a handy little thing. just pop it in your bag right before you handed over. right before i check a bag, unzip it and take a quick photo of the contents with your camera. that way if your bag does get lost, and you need to claim reimbursement for all the items in there, you don't have to get into a he said she said with a airline, you can just show with this one photo exactly what was in there and make sure you get made whole for all those items the airline lost. kristen: there's a reason they say a picture is worth a 1000

words. thank you, scott. really appreciate it, the founder of going.com. >> my pleasure. thank you. kristen: you can get our live newscast, breaking news, weather and more with our abc7 bay area streaming tv app.

kristen: thank you so much for joining us today for "getting answers." we will be here every weekday at 3:00 p.m. answering questions with experts from around the bay area. "w dwai tonight, the urgent search for two young children, just 9 months old and 2 years old swept away in the storms in the northeast. all part of the deadly flooding, the storms and tore rejs rains.