remember, the only way to win is to outrun your competition and never look back. see you next time on "the chase." i've honestly never had a chase that close, where you have to, like... that was wild. [ laughs ] ♪ >> warrio building a better bay, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. dan: poor air quality, fire danger come and power shot offs are on the radar tonight. we have the bay area forecast. ama: but first, a mystery company's massive purchase of land around an air force base. the abc 7 news i-team is uncovering new insights on the company's goal. i am ama daetz. dan: and i am dan ashley.

the investment firm that bought nearly $1 million of that land in solano county finished meeting with congressional leaders tonight. the topic, their vision for a utopia city. ama: flannery associates has a lot of work ahead of them to make this so-called dream city a reality. >> they started off on the round -- wrong foot. they have been secretive about it and they have an explanation for that. dan: stephanie is with us tonight with the latest on this controversial story. stephanie: this is the first known meeting the ceo of flannery associates has had with bay area congressional leaders since this started. after years of unanswered questions, widespread speculation, and concerns over national security, tonight the firm revealed why it has been so secretive. the mystery surrounding a nearly billion-dollar acquisition of solano county farmland,

encroaching travis air force base. it is starting to reveal itself. >> they told me it was critical, that they develop this shroud of secrecy in order to make the purchases that they wanted to make, and once they got the land , critical mass of the land, then they were able to be more open than they had been. stephanie: for the first time in five years, a former goldman sachs trader and current ceo of flannery associates met one-on-one with congressman mike thompson to explain his vision to create a utopian city. >> they told me that they wanted to do it in a way that is environmentally appropriate, a way that will be energy efficient. it will be a green development, will not be in conflict with any of the military installation around travis air force base. stephanie: would you say this meeting was productive?

did they come to you with specific plans on how they hope to tackle this? >> we did not talk a lot of specifics. a matter of fact, i raised a couple of questions that they could not answer specifically. stephanie: thompson says he asked questions about the agricultural work done in the area. >> i do not think they had a clear understanding of the significance of livestock in solano county. it was my impression that pooh-poohed the agricultural value of the land. stephanie: flannery has purchased more than 15,000 acres since 2018. >> hearing from some of the farmers that they were being threatened, these were family lands. it is like, who are you guys? stephanie: in may, flannery

filed a number of lawsuits against solano county farmers. the firm is seeking millions in damages. >> they claim that everybody who has been sued has the financial resources to defend themselves in court. stephanie: sources have confirmed that flannery is backed by the heavyweights of silicon valley, including alien air venture capitalist michael moretz and linkedin co-founder lee hoffman, among others. >> just finding out that there are these billionaires wanting to put a say in solano county? no. where's the infrastructure going to come from? what about water? >> we know this area. i have talked to a seasoned developer in california. keep in mind that the land is about 1/10 of the actual cost of building the city.

you are lucky to have a situation where a quarter of the land, about 40% of what they purchased is a windfarm. we are talking about giant turbines, so the other 25% or 35% of it is a gas field with hundreds of gas wells, which are now closed off, but that is a significant environmental issue. all in all, good luck to them. stephanie: this survey sent out last week that local officials believe is tied to flannery handed this project would be done without taxpayer money. >> i do not think that is possible to do. stephanie: based on the knowledge you have now, can you confidently state flannery does not pose a national threat to security? >> i can say there are at least two people associated with flannery who have a story and as this unfolds, we will find out if that story will hold. stephanie: thompson also added the firm plans to add three district offices in fairfield, vallejo, and vacaville, where

they will have plans laid out for people to see. the firm also told him they want to conduct town hall meetings so the community can ask questions directly. a lot of moving parts. i have been in touch with flannery since then tonight and they have indicated tonight's meeting is one of many that will be set within the next few weeks. dan: just getting started. ama: thank you. dan: to get in touch with the i-team, call the number on your screen or go to abc7news.com /iteam. >> now, and accuweather alert from abc 7 news. ama: we are facing that dangerous combo of heat and win tomorrow. dan: abc 7 meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking everything you need to know. sandhya: the concern is the fire danger. we have a red flag warning that went up a couple of minutes ago in effect until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow for all areas shaded in red. the winds are expected to ramp

up, gusting 30 miles per hour. the minimum humidity between 8% and 20%, which means any fires that develop will quickly spread. the wind is expected to intensify in the hills and the north bay. middletown, 23 miles per hour. it is the wind direction that is concerning. we have a spare the air alert for tomorrow my poor air quality for the inland east bay, from a combination of smog and wildfire smoke. we are already seeing the impacts of the smoke from up north. poor to unhealthy air quality in northern. california heading in our direction. hour-by-hour, the smoke forecast will show you the intensity of the smoke increasing tomorrow morning and continuing into tomorrow evening. i will let you know how warm or hot it will get in your neighborhood, plus a look at the rest of your forecast coming up right. --coming right up. ama: the dry wins tomorrowean

pg&e might proactively drop power for more than 80 stomers in an effort to prevent fires. several counties, including parts of napa county, will be affected. dan: every day we look for ways to build a better bay area, and tonight we are focusing on what some parents and students in san francisco are worrying about. the school district is facing a severe financial crisis and an hour ago, the board wrapped up a special meeting to try to deal with it. abc 7 news reporter j.r. stone was there talking to parents who want to know if there kid's school might close. this is not what anyone wants to hear. j.r.: it certainly is not. the district says their school should be at 95% capacity, but they are at 91%. they have gone from 53 thousand students in 2012, 49,000 students now. this is the start of what will be a month-long conversation about what they should do and

what they will do. those schools have not been put on the chopping block just yet. every seat full at the san francisco unified school district special meeting to address budgeting, staffing, and planning. most of the crowd here because they are concerned about possible school closures. >> we do not need to close any schools. what the speaker had been talking about, it is really managerial incompetence. j.r.: during the presentation tuesday night, the district revealed they have lost 4000 students in's 2012 and expect to lose another 4600 students in the next nine years. >> enrollment has declined and will continue to decline. j.r.: the district says they are also struggling to staff schools that are not full and had a 21% staffing shortage as of mid-august. the plan is to form a district advisory committee to address those issues. in the month ahead. parents we talked with said that sounds like a recipe to close

schools, and they believe certain communities will suffer. >> school closures happen. in major cities. they always target black and brown students, and that is where the students need our investing. j.r.: if schools close, who loses out? >> black and brown children. j.r.: the san francisco unified school district uses a choice based system. kids can apply to schools outside the neighborhood they. live in. dark areas of this map show where students live, including the southeastern section of the city and the dark section of this map shows where they go to school. >> the schools serving low income kids are getting fewer requests, and there were enrollment goes down and they lose staff. and they cannot have their programs. >> it is worth noting the school district has a policy to move into the zone system for elementary schools that has been pushed to the back burner. j.r.: multiple commissioners

discussed the idea of going to a zone system to better identify where changes should be made. as of right now, that is one of many ideas being talked about. so the plan is to now put this district advisory committee together. the school board will not actually vote on any sort of plan until april of next year, so lots of work to be done going forward. the district either needs to bring more money, reorganize what they get, or cut money, and all of those equate to some sort of changes. j.r. stone, abc 7 news. ama: thank you. tonight we have learned police will be patrolling in oakland schools for the rest of the week because of new threats, some of them racially charged. sky 7 was overhead from shall bow elementary today. parents dropping off their children were turned away. the school district says a weekend play date including inclusion sparked the threat that shut down a school.

it was shared on reddit. >> it was meant to bridge communities between black and brown families, share resources, and make the kids feel comfortable seeing other kids and playing with other kids that look like them in predominantly white space. ama: oakland police, the alameda sheriff's department, and fbi are investigating. a community town hall. will be held next week. fighting for racial and social justice as part of building a better bay area. to take action, go to abc7news.com/takeaction. dan: hurricane natalia heading right for florida, gang strength by the minute. the potential damage and bay area help before it hits in a matter of hours. ama: the queen has arrived. everything you need to know about the beyoncé takeover tomorrow night as she adds another accolade to her record-breaking career. >> so close yet so far.

giants pitcher alex cobb going for a no-hitter and he got incredible effort to save the day.

david: i'm david goldberg, a bilingual elementary school teacher and president of the california teachers association. as we start a new school year, there's something new happening in california's public schools. jessie: they're called community schools. david: where parents and families, students and educators are making decisions as one. damien: it's a real sense of community. leslie: we saw double-digit gains in math, in english, and reading scores. david: it's an innovation that's transforming our public schools.

narrator: california's community schools: reimagining public education. dan: hurricane idalia is barreling towards florida. you are looking at conditions in fort myers tonight. the hurricane is expected to make landfall as a dangerous category four hurricane around 5:00 a.m. local time tomorrow. tonight, california's governor newsom is sending search and rescue personnel to help those in the storm's path, including a crew from alameda fire. ike ejiochi is there in ta with more on how communities are faring. >> the national weather service

calling idalia a major event. the bands already causing havoc in the sunshine state. wins picking up speed. tornado warnings near naples, but the biggest concern, life-threatening storm surge. governor ron desantis ordering evacuations for low-lying areas in 22 counties. >> [indiscernible] it has come to our are ike: in tampa, the city's main hospital creating an aqua fence to keep the water out. the barrier island of cedar key boarded up. delete urban search and rescue teams are on the ground along with power crews from as far away as maine, anticipating major power outages. the national guard deploying 55,000 guardsmen to assist with storm prep and response, while

the dnd stands ready to assist. the storm is causing concerns the neighboring states. georgia, north, and south carolina are now in a state of emergency. ama: it is what everyone will be talking about tomorrow night, queen bey. beyoncé brings a renaissance tour to the bay area performing for one night at levi's stadium. dan: tonight we are already seeing the silver carpet being rolled out. ama: lauren martinez shows all the preparations. lauren: beyoncé fans are showing the love ahead of her sold out renaissance world tour will at levi's stadium. they welcomed fans with a free photo shoot in front of the xo sculpture. xo is the name of one of her songs. >> it is special she acknowledges as many countries and cities she can come and the fact she is coming to my own is a big thing for me. lauren: even visit san jose got into the fund. >> it is a great way to welcome

visitors into town and to see our region in south bay before fifa, the world cup, and before the super bowl. this is a great year to build up momentum. lauren: a local vintage and secondhand clothing store has convert -- concert outfit displays. >> putting a look that they can see themselves wearing at the concert. lauren: beyoncé's birthday wishes to have the fans and attendees dress in fashions. >> her lemonade album got me through such a difficult time, and her as an artist, her creativity and her presence as a person. lauren: to welcome beyoncé and her beyhive back to the bay, the city of santa clara honored her with a silver key to the city and will name her honorary mayor. >> for commitment to justice and economic equality is certainly worth recognition. lauren: her longtime publicist accepted the proclamation on her behalf. >> i have worked with beyoncé

for close to 27 years, and it gives me great joy to see her still being recognized for her contribution to the arts and to society at large. lauren: she said beyoncé has spent a great amount of time honing her craft and creating anthems. >> who run the world? girls. [laughter] but also mantras to boost confidence, to get the strength to get up in the morning. lauren: lauren martinez, a news. ama: tomorrow join us at 5:30 af bey in the bay. being sued over the size of its servings. dan: this lawsuit claims that burger king's whopper is not very much a whopper. they claim that the hamburgers

that are served are nothing like what is shown in the advertisements. the lawsuit adds that the burger appears to be 35% larger and contained double the meat in advertisements. the judge requested -- rejected order king's request to have the suit tossed. let's turn back now to check the weather. ama: abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel is here. sandhya: we will need to remain aware tomorrow because we have fire heat and the smoke alert. high fire danger, moderate heat risk inland where it will get hot and smoke and hazy at times. high-pressure coming in come up wins veering out of the north, and it will be not only heating up, but those northerly winds will dry out the atmosphere and that is concerning from a fire danger perspective. hour-by-hour, tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., parts of the north bay will be in the high category of

fire dangers, so remain aware as the humidity levels are going to go from decent right now at midnight to plunging down to 14% in fairfield, lake berryessa as well, so definitely drier air masks ahead as we look to camera. fire danger is elevated through tomorrow, warm to hot weather for your wednesday, a big drop in temperatures friday, and even a chance of showers coming your way on saturday. no showers to speak of four beyoncé's renaissance world tour tomorrow at levi's stadium. the gates open and it will be warm. 89 degrees and hazy when she takes the stage. by 11:00 p.m., we are talking about 69 degrees. on live doppler 7, a quiet picture. the preachers at this hour anywhere from the 50's at the coast to the 70's and lend, so it is cooling off, but not drastically as we go hour-by-hour tomorrow morning at

7:00, 50's and 60's rapidly warming at noontime, into the 80's and 90's for many area, and by early afternoon, those triple digits begin to show up. first thing in the morning, breezy in the northern part of our breathing area, and the hills are looking at 50's and 60's on those temperatures. tomorrow afternoon, 102 in fairfield, 70 then half moon bay. everyone else in between and it will certainly be hazy across the bay area. i want to turn your attention to a dangerous category three hurricane right now. this is hurricane idalia. we have tornado watch boxes for the gulf coast of florida. it is intensifying and expected to become a category four. catastrophic storm surge is expected as it is making landfall. tomorrow morning, expect it to become a cat 4 and it will bring a foot of rain right now. destructive winds are a concern as well.

the weekend, turns toward the northeast across the southeastern united states. accuweather 7-day forecast, wednesday is your hottest day. the heat eases on thursday but the smoke and the haze will linger, and it is cooler on friday with temperatures dropping down below average in the 70's. saturday, a chance of showers and a rebound for the second half of the holiday weekend.

dan: big names of late-night television are joining forces in a new podcast special. jimmy kimmel and a few other hosts started meeting weekly following the writers strike that began in may. you can watch jimmy kimmel live right here after abc 7 news at 11:00. ama: the giants had a chance to make history tonight. dan: they were one out away and sports director larry beil explains what happened. larry: alex cobb took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. he through 139 pitches. could he make history against

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>> abc 7 sports, sponsored by river rock casino. larry: giants pitcher alex cobb had a chance for history tonight. he gave up what was a hit in the third inning. it was intact. kyle harrison smiles after last night's win.

2-0 giants in the third. the fruit was high, pulls jd davis off the bat. the hit later changed to an error, and that would be significant. patrick bailey deep center field. a two run shop, 5-0 back to cobb who was swa against tyler stevenson. the splitter was really working tonight and the game gets stevenson, they will like it. cobb was 131 pitches. have no fear, austin slater is here, full swing back! amazing, diving grab to keep the hitter alive. he is one out away from history. spencer is lined to the right, luis matos on his horse, and you cannot get there. cobb allows two hits in a complete game with a win, but no

no-no. >> going back to that cap, if there is ever a note that is throwing when you look back, and you see plays like that, he has put his body on the line for that, so i appreciate it a lot. larry: so close. the a's visiting the mariners in seattle. shea langa lear, they call him ban for a reasongalier -- bangalier for a reason. we look at how the niners just traded trey lance. he was asked about how he thought about the way the niners handle quarterbacks. >> what did you make of the trey lance trade? >> a weird situation. i have been in a lot of weird situations in san francisco. larry: meanwhile, trey dallas, but excited for a fresh

start with the cowboys. >> i tried to not expect anything one way or another, but i cannot say that -- when i heard the cowboys, i had a big smile on my face and excited to be here. larry:

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dan: you can watch all of our newscasts live and on-demand through the abc 7 bay area connected app. it is available for roku and these other tv providers. ama: thank you for watching tonight. i am ama daetz. dan: and i am dan ashley. for all of us, we appreciate your time. ama: have a great night. ♪ >> lou: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight -- orlando bloom. lauren ash. and music from jordan davis. with cleto and the cletones. and now, jimmy kimmel!