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drivers could soon get automatic tickets for going more than 11mph over the speed limit. that is if a new bill is passed. we'll talk with the los angeles assemblyman who's making the push. also amid all the big stores leaving san francisco, ikea has been trying to open a new store for years. in the city is red tape holding up this important economic boost for the city? our media partner, the san francisco standard, will share their findings. but first, new insight into the question we've been asking for three years. why do some people have little or no symptoms times when they get covid while others really suffer? a just published ucsf study may have finally found the answer. joining us live now is dr. jill hollenbach, the study's lead author and professor of neurology at ucsf. dr. hollenbach, thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> first of all, how common is it? asymptomatic, covid. those of us who are so lucky and they get covid and they have no symptoms, what percentage? >> yeah, it's a little bit hard

to tell. i think the estimates range anywhere between 10 and 30. you can imagine that this is something that's a little bit hard to track because somebody needs to have been tested and confirmed positive even though they didn't have any symptoms. so when we know about these asymptomatic cases, for sure, it's usually in a situation where either somebody was getting tested for work or they had a household contact or, you know, a contact at work or a party who became ill. and they test positive even though they were feeling fine. but you know, we think it's probably somewhere in the 20 to 30% range. >> okay. all right. i can see why that's hard to figure, because those are the folks who are not raising their hands and getting counted. but what do these super dodgers have in common based on your study? >> yeah, well, what we found is that many of these folks not all of them, but but a higher proportion than we would have expected, appear to have version of a gene, a gene in a set of

genes called hla. and just for some context, these are the genes that we match when we talk about matching for transplant. so they're very variable, very different from person to person . and they encode these really important immune molecules that sit on the surface of all your cells whose job it is to display , say, pieces of pathogen like viruses that are infecting your cells to the immune system to initiate an immune response. and so what we found is that in a higher proportion than expected of people with asymptomatic sars-cov-2 infection, there, they have a particular version of one of these genes that we call hla b 1501, and that seems to afford them some measure of protection from having any symptoms. >> so what does that mutation, if you have it, do in your body, how does it cause a slightly different, maybe immune response ? why does it make your symptoms

lighter? >> yeah, it just, you know, and it's really just a common version of the gene. there's many, many versions. so sometimes when we say mutation, it sounds like it's something you know, weird or bad or different or that just happened. and these are just different versions of these genes that are that are already exist in the population. and this particular version on the each of these kinds of various versions of these molecules, tools display these pieces of pathogen in a slightly different way. that's a very specific relationship. and so we think that this hla, b 1501 is displaying pieces of the sars-cov-2 virus in, in a way that's just very specific and elicits the strong immune response. and more importantly, we think that these folks probably have some preexisting immunity from having prior exposure to seasonal cold viruses and that that's kind of

the really special characteristic that allows them to handle their sars-cov-2 infection without having any symptoms. >> do you have an interesting analogy for this advantage that some people have that kind of reminds me of sun tzu and the art of war, right. >> we've been describing it, you know, sometimes i hate to use that kind of imagery around war, but but the truth is, is that it really is an arms race in your body when you become infected with a virus. the virus is trying to replicate and make as many copies of itself as possible. and meanwhile, your immune system is trying to fire itself up and become effective at controlling the virus and so what we think is that in these individuals that have this particular version of this gene, they have, you know, an immune army that's kind of primed and ready for battle. it's already seen something very similar to

the virus that it's meant to be attacking. and so you have this tremendous advantage, if you can imagine the army already knows what to look for. it's ready to go and it can initiate that immune response so quickly and effectively that, you know, you don't would not even know that you've been infected. >> interesting. yeah, no need to go through boot camp. it's ready to go. that's right. okay. but does this possibly explain why 25% of the population on paper still haven't gotten covid once ? >> yeah. i mean, it's hard to know. do those 25, you know, have they actually not gotten covid or did they have had become infected with sars-cov-2, the virus that causes covid and they just didn't know it because they were asymptomatic? i think the data is a little bit unclear on that. and so there's been a range of data out there that's mostly based on uh- antibody testing in the population in so

i think that, you know, a proportion of those individuals who think that they've never gotten covid actually were infected, but they were lucky enough not to feel it. >> so this doesn't explain everything, though, right? because some people who don't have this mutation also have no symptoms. right. it's not like and i don't. right. okay >> yeah, that's right. so it's not it's not a, you know, 100% either way. so for sure there's other genetic factors and probably non-genetic factors that that, you know, make people more likely to be asymptomatic. and also on the flip side, just because you have this version of this gene doesn't mean that you will absolutely be asymptomatic . >> so knowing this now, now, i mean, three years into it at a time when, you know, people aren't even talking about, i think a lot of people are getting the next booster anymore. what are the implications? >> well, you know, we hope that, you know, when you do a study like this, you know, you're interested to find out what is the specific relationship. but

it also helps you to kind of uncover for the general process processes that are important in how people experience disease. and so we're hoping that, you know, what we've found in this study can help us to understand what are the conditions that are necessary for people to, you know, effectively manage the virus and not have an experience of having any symptoms. and, you know what we do with that? i think there's many options, but we can certainly inform next generation vaccine design. i think that it's worth considering whether we want to think about vaccines that are targeted towards eliminating symptoms rather than infections. as we know at this point, it's been a harder than we thought to have a vaccine that's long lasting in terms of protection against infection. an but we think that it's something that would be targeted against symptoms might be longer lasting because the effect or cells that are responsible for that tend to have a long lifetime in your

body. so you know, i don't know about you, but you know, when i had covid, i, i didn't become, you know, gravely ill. but it also, you know, wasn't the best week of my life. so i would have been pretty satisfied to have had a vaccine that might have prevented me from having any symptoms. to me, that would have been a pretty good outcome. >> yeah. i mean, i think i was kind of like you and yeah, instead of just, you know, getting that thing that makes it so that my body doesn't catch covid, if you can give me that thing that makes it so that i don't suffer symptoms, you're right. at this point, i think a lot of people would take it. all right, dr. hollenbeck, thank you so much for coming on today to share the results of your study. >> yeah, thanks for having me here. >> appreciate it. all right. coming up next, drivers in the bay area may soon automatically get a ticket for speeding. we'll talk with the man behind this proposal of a camera network and his personal connection t

>> would you welcome it if there were speed limit cameras throughout california and you can get an automatic ticket for speeding without ever doing that whole officer pulling you over? may i see your driver's license thing? that's what an assembly bill. the assembly bill 645 proposes. it passed the senate judiciary committee and will go to the house committee on appropriations in august. joining us live now is the coauthor of the bill los angeles democratic assemblyman mike gibson. assemblyman gibson, thank you so much for your time today. >> thank you for your interest in this important piece of policy. >> and i know i want to start with my condolences, first of all, because i know it was a long time ago, but it was still a very personal loss that prompted you to work on this issue, on this bill. can you talk to us about that? >> yes. in 1989, our son was

killed by a hit and run motorist who is still at large today. and these kinds of bills kind of policies really speak to our vigor, our determination to making sure that it never happens to anyone, any family, losing a loved one in a crosswalk or or something of that kind, that situation. we don't want anyone to go through that. so it's very personal. so when assemblywoman laura friedman came up with the idea of putting cameras in certain locations and in certain areas, especially the city of los angeles, that might underscore has a high rate of hit and runs pedestrian being killed. i stepped up to the plate to make sure gave her my full and 100% support and let me just tell you, i think we in the bay area understand where you're coming from because as i understand san

francisco, san jose and oakland would be pilot cities that would test this out if it were to go. >> and we've certainly had our share of fatalities, too. in san jose, for example, we've had over 20 already just this year. and you know, it is it is tragic. and we're far from that vision zero goal where we have no fatalities at all. but i want to ask you, how big of a role does speeding play? any idea for speeding play a major role? >> you look at 2021, nearly 4400 californians lost their lives due to traffic collisions and 1275 of those were pedestrian and also bicycling who have lost their lives due to speed. so speed contributes a great deal. when you look at the federal statistics, the federal highway administration speed cameras can reduce crashes. this in urban areas and their streets by 54. so we must do everything that we

can and assembly bill 645 by laura friedman. help us reduce the amount of people who are speeding, speeding, underscore speeding and also save lives. and that's what we want to do. we want to save lives. let's talk about exactly how this system would work as you guys envision it. >> right. where would those cameras be? and, you know, is it sensors that would tell what speed you're going? and then if it does, it read your license plate. explain that whole thing to us. >> so it's a camera and so a camera is taking photos right. and so this is a pilot program, as you indicated. it will be piloted in los angeles, san jose, san francisco, long beach and oakland and also glendale. and it will be in areas where school zones, high injury areas where fatalities have taken place and places. that has a history of where people are speeding. so it will be designated in very specific sites during this pilot program.

and want to underscore that this is a pilot program and then we'll evaluate it after the program is over. >> not on the freeways. right. it's going to be on city streets where there's a history of a lot of speeding and accidents in which people get hurt. okay so does it read face is two or only snaps. you know, the license plates. >> it will it will do the same thing as red light cameras. if you remember, we had red light cameras that will actually snap an image and as well capture a license plate because we want to make sure that the person who is , in fact, speeding, breaking the law is notified that it was, you. and we have proof that show that it was actually you. okay >> real quickly, why 11mph as the threshold for receiving that automatic ticket? well this conversation has come up with a lot of experts. >> and this was as a comfortable spot in terms of people who are going over the speed limit. 11 miles would be considered speeding and should, in fact,

this camera can capture them, should also be notified. again you know, the first the first time this is taking place, the first 60 days, it's a program. it's a warning. so tickets are not being issued. right. and the whole purpose of this is to slow people down in making sure people drive in the safe speed limit because we have so many people who are losing their lives. and ultimately, this bill is a life saver. and it's a game changer in communities who have high risk communities that people are driving recklessly and speeding. >> how much would the fine be? is it a set amount or is it based on how many miles per hour you're over the limit. >> the first the first fine is $50. again, we're not trying to, you know, bankrupt people, but certainly trying to slow down drivers. so it'll be $50 and it could potentially increase based on if this is still repetitive behavior that a person is exhibiting. all right. >> let me ask you if there are

any concern. right. i you know, you did indicate that faces even equipment, camera or ai, if it's trained that way, could be notoriously bad at recognizing people of color, too. and what if that's not you in the photo? well, then there's still due process where you can go and dispute this. and we want to make sure, again, it's the individual who is violating the law, is the one who will receive a fine. again, this is to to slow people down, especially when areas have been mathematically and with data capture the shows that there's high rates of speed taking place in a particular area. i don't want i want to make sure that this that what we've suffered in our family. no other family has to suffer. right. and the way we do this is making sure that people are held accountable. i mean, i think even the critics of this plan recognize the need for finding a plan, a solution.

and certainly everybody feels for anyone who's lost a loved one. but i do wonder for the folks who say, what about sensor malfunctioning? what if you weren't really going over 11mph? how would you dispute that if there's no officer there who stopped you? well, again, if you're speeding, is capturing your speed, right? so a ticket is not going to be given to anyone if, in fact, they're not going over the speed limit as designated in that particular area. and so, again, you will have an opportunity to dispute this if, in fact, there is not you or you want to dispute it. and so it will be captured and your license plate and your recognition would be there. and you have an opportunity to say that's not you. and again, the purpose of this is to save lives. and again, this is a pilot program. it's in certain locations throughout the state. and i'm naming those those particular cities who wants to be part of this this program and this ends in 2032. and then the legislature will

evaluate based on the data, whether or not to take it further or just drop it altogether. all right. real quickly, because assemblyman gibson, we have to go. but when might this take effect? when when does it come up for a vote? well, this will come up. but once it passed out of appropriate in the senate, then it goes to the floor and then it goes onto the governor's desk. so it has a ways to go. but we are very hopeful because this bill has received bipartisan support and we're very excited about it and want to thank the author for bringing it before us and thank you for your time coming on the show. appreciate. thank you. ikea was supposed to open a store in downtown san francisco a couple of years ago. we'll find out what is behind the delay. we'll talk to the san francisco stand on next. stick

since the popular furniture chain ikea bought some space along market street in downtown san francisco to open a store. it has an open yet? yeah. our san francisco standard media partner looking into what is

holding up the project. why the delay, all the things that are going on there. joining us live now is the standards data reporter liz lindquist. liz, thanks for joining us. thanks so much for having me. okay. so let's start from the beginning. i've been hearing about this ikea opening downtown for a while now, right? i think we said three years. so give us the 411. where is it supposed to be? what was going to happen there? what's the vision? yeah. so furniture hungry san franciscans have been waiting for a long time for this ikea to show up. the inca centers, which runs ikea, they purchased the property at 945 market street right by the powell street station. they purchased it in 2020. and it was they had initial plans to open it by 2021. but as we know, the ikea is still not opened. and in the last couple of months, they've pushed back the opening date a couple of times. so real quickly, would such a store be a big boost to the city economically? yeah, i mean, the place where the ikea is supposed to open is right along a stretch of market street, where a lot of big box stores recently closed. so the whole foods just on the

street had closed nordstrom and a handful of other bigger stores. that really boosted up the area have all recently shuttered. so a lot of people are hoping that this ikea will revitalize the mid-market area. right? i mean, there's the taxes from the sales. there's jobs, there's foot traffic. okay. so now let's find out why is it not open yet? you know, what was the original target and what's been the delay for? yeah, it's honestly hard to say that there was an original target simply because it's been moving so often. we were told back in february that it might be may and now the most recent update from ikea officials is by the end of 2023, they indicated that they're in the final stages of construction. and if you go down to the spot on market street, you can see the signage has gone up. there's storage shelves that you can see from the inside and construction and security people going in and out of the building. but a lot of the delays that we saw through emails between the city and with ikea have to do with just how complicated it is to open a building in downtown san francisco. you mean the permitting process?

yeah. so back in october of 2022, ikea officials emailed the department of building inspection in san francisco just voicing their concerns about the really long permitting processes that are required to just get a building open. you have to get them up to code, make sure they reach health and safety compliance. and a lot of these issues seem to have been dragged out over a pretty long time period from october through today. basically. i mean, what is going on there? right, because this is not the first time we're hearing about the permitting process slow in san francisco and obstructing the opening of something. we hear about that from mom and pops to ice cream shops. right. and some give up after spending tens of thousands of dollars of their savings. ikea, i guess, has the money for delays. but what is the problem? yeah, i mean, i think a lot of it just has to do with getting the city and a company as big as ikea and a building as large as the one they're proposing to open. just in compliance with each other starting in february 2023, after just months of planning

and permitting hiccups, the city started to meet weekly with ikea representatives all the way through june when they finished the final health and safety permitting timelines. and so they kept on meeting just to try to really stay on the same page and get an actual opening date out of ikea. any indication from ikea that it may be security and safety related to. yeah. so in a lot of the email communications between the city and ikea, they talked pretty extensively about a lot of the things that are happening on market street that have to do with vandalism and store theft and things like that. so so what is the city telling you? so the city is saying that they've worked really closely with ikea, the department of building inspection, which handles all of these health and safety permits and make sure that buildings are up to code with all of those things. they said that they expedited a lot of the permits that ikea proposed to them and that they've been really helpful with ikea throughout the process. but ikea tells somewhat of a different story, saying that they faced a lot of different hurdles, just trying to navigate the many permits involved. is this only about ikea?

i would imagine if you had an anchor store like that, a biggie open up, then other businesses will open up nearby too, right? i think that's the hope with a lot of big box stores that are just now empty with nordstrom leaving and coco republic and all of those stores along union square, you'd imagine that somewhere like ikea, which is also trying to brand itself as a meeting space and a co-working space in the middle of market street, that that would also help liven up the community there and not just the commercial properties. do you have any specific names yet that might be coming as well? other businesses? not that i'm aware of right now, no. okay. and what is your best guess having been out there and looked piqued in there for the opening date? i think that they said that they're going to come up with an opening date very soon. i think it's promising that there's already racks out that you could put products on and get products onto the shelves soon enough, which seems to be an indication that it'll be available for for you soon. well, i could use some new curtains, so keep me posted. liz lindquist, our thank you so

much. thank you. and you can check out liz's story and more of the san francisco standard's other original reporting on their website as of standard. abc7 news will continue to bring you more segments featuring their city focused journalism. we'll be

getting answers today. we'll be here every weekday at three, answering questions with tonight, the severe weather threat, 68 million americans on alert. for destructive winds, tornadoes possible after that massive tornado six football fields wide on the ground for