seven. news starts right now. >> a powerful storm is moving into the bay area. right now, here's a live look for you at our emeryville camera. looking across the bay, you can just see how dark it is out there right now. very foreboding storm. good afternoon, i'm kristen z. the heavy winds and rain are definitely already having an impact on us, p-g-and-e's reports. thousands are without power around the bay area right now. let's take a live look at the map here. the red triangles are areas that have more than 5000 households impacted by outages. you can see there are a couple of those right now. one in the daly city area and another closer to like mountain view, not too far away from there. each orange square represents between 500 and 5000 customers, so slightly smaller outages, but still sizable. you can see there are a lot of those, especially in the south bay area. let's get right to abc seven weather anchor spencer christian, who is tracking this storm. it is no joke, spencer. >> it is definitely no joke.

kristen. it's a very strong storm. and of course we may have more power outages going into the evening hours right now. we just saw from the national weather service a thunderstorm severe thunderstorm warning for santa cruz. and as we take a closer look, you can see that was supposed to expire at 3 p.m. and apparently it that's here we go. with our clicker not working again. let me get over here and manually make these graphics move for you. so okay, we can zoom in to that area near santa cruz. and it looks like that system has weakened now moved off into the hill country. but there was a severe thunderstorm cited there with lightning strikes and hailstones and wind gusts up to 60mph. but apparently that has moved on. we also have a special, special weather statement in effect for parts of contra costa and alameda counties. there could be severe thunderstorms developing in that area. right now, though, we're looking at that cold front pushing through the bay area, bringing along the head of it. these heavy downpours, strong gusty wind, cold air will filter

in behind that frontal system and that may produce some snow at higher bay area peaks during the overnight hours. right now, we're looking at gusts up to 48mph at sfo, 45 at oakland, all around the bay area. we have gusts right now between 25 and about 50mph. not surprisingly, we have a high wind advisory in effect for the entire bay area until 8:00 tonight. now, the sustained winds are generally between 20 and 30mph, but the gusts have exceeded 55mph. and of course, with gusts like that, we could see more downed trees and power outages. this is a level two storm on the exclusive abc seven storm impact scale into this evening. we expect more downpours, strong gusty winds, heavy snow will fall in the sierra. and as we look at the forecast animation, you see, just as we're now approaching the evening commute, we're getting some of our most impactful weather. with the heavy downpours pushing eastward and southward indicated by those more vivid colors of yellow, orange and red. by about 730 8:00 this evening, we should see the bulk of that weather system

moving to our east, but there will still be some heavy downpours, pockets of downpours and showers trailing the bulk of the storm into the late night hours. now the rainfall totals by about 11:00 tonight will generally range from just under half inch to well over an inch and a quarter for the rainiest areas and the wind gusts. the animation going into the late afternoon shows the winds just beginning to tame a little bit after about 5 or 6 p.m, certainly after 7 or 8, we probably won't see any more gusts over 30 or 40mph. when we go to the sierra, where a winter storm warning remains in effect until 11:00 tomorrow night. above 4000ft, we expect 12 to 18in of snow up to four feet on the highest peaks. ridge gusts up to 70mph, and you can see how rapidly the snow will accumulate between now and tomorrow night. right now in the bay area, we're looking at 24 hour temperature change, showing the effect of that cold front passing through. temperatures have dropped sharply from this time yesterday. about 12 to 9 to 14 degrees cooler in most bay area

locations than at this time yesterday. so i'm going to skip ahead right now to the sense of doing all this manually to the accuweather seven day forecast, just to give you an idea of what's coming our way after this evening. storm tomorrow scattered showers. we may see a few breaks of sunlight, but more rain tomorrow and friday on top of already saturated soil could very well produce some flooding or mudslides. we get a sunnier break on saturday, a little bit of drying out, but more rain comes in on sunday and monday. so kristen, i'll have more on this a little bit later. if any more severe weather develops, thunderstorms or anything like that, i will let you know. >> all right. thank you. spencer. >> okay. >> crews were out in the south bay today cleaning up after a tree came crashing down on a car. this was in cupertino. you can see the large tree crushed the back of the car. crews had to use a chainsaw in order to remove it. the rain is not the only issue expected with today's storm. much of the bay area is

also under a high wind warning. until tomorrow, as you heard from spencer. now, because of that, fire officials are telling people to be prepared to lose power. as you see, many have already. abc seven news reporter lena howland has more from the east bay. >> with sprinkles starting to fall on commuters wednesday morning, alameda county fire officials are warning people across the east bay to expect strong winds and brace for flooding in some inland areas. division chief randall west says now is not the time to be testing. driving through standing water. >> six inches of water may not be six inches that you think it can definitely be deeper, so try to avoid those areas where you think you might be able to get through. if your intuition tells you not to do it, it's probably a good instinct not to go through that flooding area. >> the national weather service issuing a high wind warning in effect through thursday morning. that's why west is urging people to be ready for power outages. >> please go out and get

batteries. please go out. and if you have portable chargers, please have those available. >> it's a storm that's putting a pause on a 225 mile kayaking journey, which the owners of point reyes adventure company are in the middle of. >> it's not even expert level today. it's like you shouldn't go out today with gusts of 55. nobody should be out there. >> they're circumnavigating san francisco, san pablo, and suisun bays in just six days. they've made it a little under 100 miles. >> once it bumped up over 35, we realized we're not going to make a whole lot of progress. so it's safer for us to really take that day rest. and it's conveniently right in the middle of our trip. >> but with more rain and less wind in the forecast for thursday, they plan to be back out on the water tomorrow. >> and rain is not even that big of an issue for us. like we're we're kayaking, we're in the water, we've got all of our splash gear and everything and extra ponchos. >> if you do come across any downed power lines during this storm, p-g-and-e's says, do not touch it. assume it is live and

call 911 to report it. in dublin, lena howland, abc seven news. >> and you can track the wet weather this week using the same live doppler seven tools that spencer and our weather team uses. head to abc seven news.com or the abc seven bay area app for the full forecast. as you may have heard today, the trump administration, the department of education, has laid off about half its staff, about 1300 people. this will dramatically affect the department's operations, including federal student aid and programs for vulnerable students. this is how president trump explains his action. >> we want education to be moved back where the states run education, where the parents of the children will be running, education, where governors that are doing a very good job will be running education. >> but how might this federal cutback affect bay area schools? joining us live to talk about this and other pressing issues facing california education. state superintendent of public instruction tony thurmond.

superintendent thurmond, thanks for your time today. >> thank you, christine, for having us on. >> before we get into that whole issue, i want to start with something you are deeply involved in. earlier today, you held a news conference along with state senator jesse arreguin from berkeley to address the educator and housing shortage. tell us about this bill you sponsored. >> yeah. thank you. today we talked and launched sb 502 publicly. in short, the bill would help school districts to build affordable housing for teachers and school staff. we think that 125 school districts a year could get help. they could get enough money for the pre-development of that construction, and it could amount in maybe 100,000 more units every single year. for educators and others in our workforce. >> i understand you started work on this last year, right? why is this so critically important? >> like many, you know, school staff struggle with, you know, not being able to afford to live near where they work. and that's

a threat to our students success. and until we can figure out how to pay our educators better, one thing we can do is to address the lack of affordable housing. and it turns out that in every county in the state, school districts have surplus property. 75,000 acres, to be specific. and if they each put just a few housing units on that surplus property, we could get the 2 million housing units by the year 2030. >> wow. okay, let me ask you to put a little more meat on the bones there of what you outlined for us, making it easier for school districts to get funding for pre-development. what exactly does that mean? >> yeah, thanks for the question. you know, this helps schools assess the value of their surplus property. they can have architects and others who can help them determine how many units that they could build and the type of units that they need to build. and so this bill, you know, if approved, would result

in school districts getting anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 that they can use to conduct those studies, the feasibility of building the number of units that they can build, what it would cost, things that don't normally do in house. this gets them that extra technical assistance to get ready to build and to put out a, you know, an rfp, you know, put out a proposal to get bids from companies that will help them ultimately build the housing project. >> got it. so you're really talking more about the research part, the laying the groundwork part and not really, you know, getting the school districts into development, like becoming the developers themselves. >> that's correct. although the schools would ultimately become the developer, but they would need help from someone who is a developer and from architects to think it all through. you know, the state's been giving money every single year. the low income housing tax credit, you know, $500 million. and, you know, many educators qualify for that and so need help figuring out the financing, where to

build. sometimes just having the property assessed for what its value will result in gives them money that they can use for the actual construction of the housing units. >> can i just ask you, the school districts in the bay area that you've heard about that have started kind of building teacher housing? i think palo alto, mountain view, i think there are a couple in the east bay. have you seen have they seen success really in terms of attracting teachers? >> yes. the jefferson elementary union school district has just recently, in the last several months, launched a brand new project in san jose. there have been many projects, some in the pre-k through 12 space, a lot in higher education. there is tremendous interest. today we heard from the west contra costa unified school district and their desire. oakland unified has been involved. so we know that there's interest in the bay area and certainly throughout the state of california. >> all right. we'll see if this bill passes in the months ahead. but superintendent tony thurman, i want to move on to a few other

things. of course, people are talking about the mass layoffs at the department of education. many are asking, how exactly does that affect local schools, right. whether it's k through 12 or the universities? i think in order to understand that, we first have to get exactly what does the department of education do on a federal level? >> yeah. great question. think of it this way. the department of education administers funding for special education services funding to help low income students, including homeless students. a lot of specialized programs there, as well as grants for those for students to go to college. and so this is sending the most destructive signal that the president and his administration would just just dismiss half of the department means that this is a threat to special education and to funding for those who are going to college. and i think that people in the bay area need to reach out to the members of congress and say, hey, we want

special education to be protected. you know, these actions that the president is taking, he's making these executive orders to try and dismantle the department of education. that requires action from congress. and so we really want to urge your followers to reach out to their elected officials in congress to say, we want you to stand with us and to protect the us department of education. >> right. because that's funding. congress has already approved and designated for those purposes. but let me ask you also, you heard that sound bite from president trump when he talks about wanting to return education to the states. some people may be wondering what that means, because isn't curriculum already determined by local school boards? >> it's absolutely correct. and when the president says return education to the states, he's sending a message. he's hiding. he's saying that he doesn't want the federal government to fund programs like special education. as it stands now, california sends more money to the federal government than we actually get for programs like special

education. and so he is trying to, you know, shirk his duties and his responsibilities to make sure that the federal government provides adequate funding for california and for all states. and we have to hold the president and his administration to account and to say, fully fund special education, don't attack kids with disabilities. make sure they get access. >> look, even before this move, so many bay area school districts have been sending out layoff notices lately due to massive budget deficits. san francisco unified is looking at $113 million. oakland about 95 million. look historically is this the worst you've seen it. and why are these districts so broke. >> worst i've seen from the federal government. and those districts are broke because our system is based on average daily attendance. and that's how schools get revenue. our population has been declining and attendance has been declining, and that means less revenue for our schools. you know, what the president is doing is a smack in the face to the school districts. they have

to lay folks off because they don't have the money. the us department of education is funded by congress. and here the president is cutting these programs and laying staff off with no notice. some think he's trying to do this so he can give a tax break to wealthy americans. and we think that's wrong. don't do that. on the backs of education of california kids or anywhere in the nation. >> all right. if you'll allow me one more question here. you've been speaking as the state school superintendent, but i want to also ask you a question as a gubernatorial candidate next year, when governor newsom will be termed out. it's a crowded democratic field. lieutenant governor eleni kounalakis, former congresswoman katie porter, attorney general rob bonta bonta has said he would drop out if former vice president kamala harris jumped in, calling her field clearing as a candidate, would you likely leave the race if she entered? do you feel the same? >> i don't want to get into a lot of political conversation because i'm here in the state department of education. all i can say is that i have enjoyed

serving for 17 years the people of this state. and as i come to the end of my term, i'd like to continue doing the work that we do on education, making sure that our kids learn how to read, making sure that they're ready for great jobs. and so that's where my focus is. and, you know, i'm happy to discuss with you the campaign in a more direct way when i'm not at the department. but i love being a public servant, and the people have given me a chance to serve, and i hope to continue serving for many years to come. >> donna, i did forget that you were at the state office. and of course, from there you cannot speak about campaigning matters. sorry about that. and thank you so much for coming on today to talk about these important issues. >> you bet. thank you for covering these great issues for the people of our bay area. >> thank you. coming up next, much more ahead on abc seven news at three. a wild shootout that could have been deadly. the abc seven news i-team talks to a witness in a corruption case. a former oakland mayor,

is moving across the bay area with more thunderstorm warnings. the latest ones are in parts of san mateo and santa clara counties. they may be expiring shortly, but just watch out for that possibility. here's a live look from our embarcadero camera. you can see how gray it is out there. gusty. to make sure you download our abc seven news app so you can follow today's rainy forecast wherever you live. we're now learning more about a wild shootout that may be connected to the federal corruption case involving former oakland mayor chantel and others. we're hearing from the man targeted in that shooting and a neighbor who saw it all happen. abc seven news i-team reporter dan noyes joins us with the story.

>> you can still see a bullet hole in the rain gutter at mario juarez's house in the fruitvale neighborhood. nine months after the shootout. >> and then it stopped there and it shot like, two times. >> sheila campos lives across the street. she tells me she was headed to work after 9 p.m, when she saw a car drive by three times, firing at juarez's house and suburban. on the last pass, mario juarez came outside with his 40 caliber glock. >> and he started shooting back like firing back. pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop. and the car just kind of skated off, but kind of fast. and he was in the middle of the street shooting, like trying to get him. >> i've been speaking to mario juarez by an encrypted phone app. he tells me he can't be in oakland right now because he still fears for his life. >> he sent a written statement, first reported by the san francisco chronicle, that says two suspects were nabbed in december 2024 tied to these attacks. but justice, it never came. oakland police made the arrest, but the da's office, just days after pamela price

left office because of the recall, allowed the suspects to walk without charges and without informing juarez that the men who may have shot at him were back on the streets. it's an issue of safety, right? >> yes, absolutely. it's definitely an issue of safety. >> ernie castillo is mario juarez's attorney. >> when you have people coming to your house and you get into a shootout and people shoot at you, that's a huge concern. so we should have been notified by that former administration 100%. >> mario juarez recently had a fraud case against him dropped. he was accused of bouncing checks for a mailer that supported xiang tao in her race for mayor. as part of that case, juarez accused then district attorney pamela price of demanding $25,000 from him to help her recall, saying when he refused, she filed the criminal case against him. >> in that motion were declarations and statements by witnesses, including mario juarez, that the former administration had tried to shake down mario for $25,000, and if he had not contributed to

that campaign for $25,000, then they would charge him. >> through her attorneys, price denied asking juarez for money back to the shooting. in june, neighbors confirmed to me that the day after the gunfire, the fbi canvased the neighborhood looking for witnesses and surveillance video. and just ten days later, agents raided the homes of then mayor shengtao, her partner andre jones, and david and andy duong, owners of california waste solutions. they're all charged with conspiracy, bribery, mail and wire fraud, and more. federal prosecutors also claim tao agreed to purchase modular units for the homeless from evolutionary homes, a company run by the huang's and mario juarez. >> the product that we have is a single family residential home. >> though he is not named in the indictment, juarez appears to be unindicted coconspirator one who acted as a go between for the duong's and shengtao. now, mario juarez says they saw me as a threat. not because i'm perfect, because i wouldn't bow. they

wanted me dead to keep their secrets safe, to silence a voice that wouldn't shut up. they picked the wrong man for the i-team. dan noyes, abc seven news. >> move over. pickleball. there's a new activity in town. it's called paddle. a combo of tennis and squash. abc seven news anchor gloria rodriguez takes a look at i

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aws. >> jessica tauber co-founded park paddle with neil kanani and katie limbert. they opened a location at embarcadero plaza in san francisco in 2023, and the south san francisco oyster point flagship location in november of last year. it features six indoor courts, complete with a lounge and locker rooms, and they have plans to open a spot in sacramento soon. >> our goal is to provide paddle across california and the us, so we'll continue to expand and grow over the next couple of years. >> while paddle uses the same scoring system as tennis, these

players say paddle ranks superior. >> i don't even play tennis anymore, and i'm worried that if i play tennis, i'm going to ruin my swing, that i've practiced to do well in this court. >> and there are, of course, other places to play paddle in the bay area. bay paddle is based in treasure island and dogpatch, and they offer pickleball and paddle. they have plans to open locations in san jose, sunnyvale, santa cruz and new york in 2023. more than 2500 new paddle clubs opened across the world. it really shows you how quickly paddle is growing in popularity. in the studio. gloria rodriguez, abc seven news. >> for whatever life throws at you, get coverage, confidence with aa insurance.

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