new information tonight about the pilot of a small plane forced to make a frightening emergency landing at buchanan field in concord. good evening everyone i'm frank somerville. >> i'm gasia mikaelian, julie haener is off tonight. two people are hospitalized tonight after a small plane crashed at concord buchanan field. we learned the pilot had just taken off then radioed the

tower that he needed to make an emergency landing. >> reporter: gasia, it didn't take long at all for this pilot to realize he had a major problem just after take off. he contacted air traffic control and told them he had an emergency. he turned the plane around and headed for one of these open runways but missed. take off trouble for a pilot at buchanan field in concord and this is the result. a single engine navian nose first north of the one of airports runways. the pilot and passenger injured. just after take off around 3:30 this afternoon, the pilot declared an emergency. tried to make it back to the airport and crashed. take a look at these pictures from news chopper 2. you can see the small plane came to rest near the runway just yards from highway 4. firefighters pulled the pilot and male passenger out of the wrecked plane.

both suffered minor injuries. they were taken by ambulance to john mier medical center where tonight they're said to be in good condition but expected to stay overnight. the pilot is hill and he received his pilot in 2008. robins is a member of the mount diablo's members association. this picture shows the pilot with his navian which tonight is badly damaged. that plane remains crashed here at the airfield. officials with the transportation board are expected to arrive tomorrow to begin examining it. heather holmes. the pilot of a jet blew two tires on the runway at sacramento international airport. 130 passengers were on board. southwest says no one was on board. the plane was headed to seattle when the tires blew this

evening. >> it was fine for the first three seconds, what's going on you know. then i realized what happened. >> the jet parked away from the terminal where fire crews hosed it down as a precaution. most were rebooked and should be on the way to seattle at this hour. new at 10:00, another day without rain here in the bay area. this month is shaping up to be the third driest december on record. so is it too soon to start worrying about the water supply for millions of the people? we wanted to find out, and today debra villalon is live in oakland with answers. >> reporter: it's been a couple of weeks since we've seen rain drops and not enough to even need these. clear nights makes more some beautiful views, but the water picture is a lot more murky. >> reporter: one year ago it was coming down in buckets. rain, early and often. that december is twice as wet

as always. reservoirs topping out and over, and the snow pack burying our memories. the fullness of last year is why water managers aren't worried now. their reservoirs are still at healthy levels. >> it usually takes two years of drought to put us in a pickle. last year was dry and this was dry, then the concern would be much greater. >> reporter: the bay area thirst is quenched not by falling rain but melting snow. in the south bay there's still optimism. the wet is yet to come. >> usually january, february, march are usually our biggest rain months so we still have hope that we can get close to an average year. >> reporter: anything close to average would do on top of last

year's abundance. the system near yosemite supplies the system. >> it shows you you never know what to expect in california. >> reporter: water districts point out when we go from drenched to dry in just one season it shows why it's important to conserve water as a habit all of the time. but a happy new year would be a wet one, or else i'll be looking for a march miracle. we're live in oakland, debra villalon, ktvu news. and it has been a very dry december. we're coming into what will easily be the third driest winter. that is no small record, we're talking about san francisco specifically. a very dry december for us. let me show you when does it rain in december? we had light rain on the 11th and 12th and 15th. every other day basically dry.

as we go into this next week continued dry. what does this mean for our rainfall? as debra pointed out and people in their piece pointed out it's not a big deal at this point because it's still early. but santa rosa is at 34% of average. downtown san francisco is 39% of average. in san jose, it's 33% of average. let's take a look at san jose, all they have to do is bump up a couple of inches. one or two good storms and you're back to average. we're early in the season, that's the way it looks now. some changes indicate a big weather pattern. crews finished repaving a busy interception. a water main broke at the corner of south main and olympic this morning. it took crews until about 6:00 to repair the break, they then began a three hour repaving job. the water brake did cause some

damage in the storage room of crate and barrel. the authorities commission says a connector is to blame in south san francisco just last month. water shot 60 feet into the air the day after thanksgiving. today the public authorities commission released the results of an independent report. it found a pipe was not properly connected to the new pipe due to a flaw in the design. >> it wasn't that this was a bad pipe, two pieces of pipe literally just came apart at the point they were connected because it wasn't held in place. >> more than 1 million-gallons of water were released damaging six homes and nine cars. the puc says it's working with homeowners and the city of san francisco to settle claims. it has checked dozens of similar joints to make sure the problem is not repeated. a restaurant worker in oakland is recovering after he

was shot while driving to a holiday work party. this happened on international boulevard in the fruitvale district. the victim was shot in the neck but was able to bring his truck to a stop outside his work, a restaurant called otias's. the man is in the hospital but is doing okay. there's been no arrests, it's the second shooting involving someone connected with that restaurant. back in april the owner of the same restaurant was gunned down which led to calls for security cameras in that area. police in antioch identified the toddler who died after he was run over as his father was backing out of a parking space. investigators say the father didn't see malcolm norris after the child walked behind his truck. investigators say it appears the boy's death was a horrible accident. the disappointing december sales are taking a toll on one retail giant. sears holding the company of

sears and kmart says it is closed 100 stores. eric rasmussen looks into what that means for this area. >> is it busy in there? >> the line to pay was really long. >> reporter: but some say just a look inside this sears. >> no, no, not that many people in there. >> reporter: is a sign of the bigger problems facing the company. now it says a 5% drop in revenue during the critical holiday shopping period means as many as 120 sears and kmart stores will have to close nationwide. >> kind of sad, i've been shopping at sears since my parents were shopping. >> the world has changed around them and the stores have -- they fell asleep a long time ago. >> reporter: sears and kmart can no longer compete on price and selection with other retail giants such as wal-mart. but there could be help for bay area stores. >> the bay area has been one of the bright spots in the united states for the last few years in retail. so it's clear to me that the

stores around here would be among those, that would be first on the list for closure. >> reporter: sears has said it will now focus its resources on their best performing stores. some only wonder how many jobs it will cost in the process. >> for everybody losing jobs this is another blow that is only going to make it harder on the american people. >> reporter: sears has yet to say which stores will close or exactly how many employees stand to be laid off. in the newsroom, eric rasmussen, ktvu channel 2 news. and more details now on sears, it stocks took a real beating on wall street. sears dropped more than $12 on 27%. the stock closed at $33.38 a share. it had traded as high as $80 as recently as last october. and while sears had a december to forget, new numbers are showing a surge in consumer confidence. in six minutes, why those numbers might not tell the whole story. a san francisco man accused

of impersonating a doctor was in court today and pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges. prosecutors say carlos guzman garza ran a clinic using a fake medical license. one woman claims she ended up with a serious infection after a session with garza. he pled not guilty. a community in fairfield is marking a somber occasion. it was 20 years ago today the 4- year-old amanda nicole campbell disappeared. she and her brother had ridden a bike to their neighbors house eight doors from her home. she decided to go to another

friend's house but never arrived. investigators say they still receive tips and follow up on every one. devils peak claims another life and this time it forces a shut down of highway 1. a picture perfect sunset over t

tonight we've learned that a motorcycle driver killed in a crash was apparently going way over the speed limit. ken wayne is live in pacifica and tell us the chp was actually on the look out for that rider before he crashed. ken-- >> reporter: frank highway 1 is back open tonight, anyone who's driven this stretch of highway knows how treacherous it can be, add speed and it can be more dangerous. this was the scene after a motorcyclists went down at devil slide. officers spotted the motorcyclists before the crash at half-moon bay traveling at more than 140 miles per hour. >> they had seen him, they had put it out on the radio that there was a high speed motorcycle, they could not get into position, he was going too fast. >> reporter: this video gives a

motorcycle perspective on traveling the tight turns. the motorcyclists crossed the double yellow line and hit oncoming traffic. just friday a motorcyclists was killed after crashing into the bay bridge. sergeant shraoáeufr was on that scene too. >> these two gentleman were driving above the posted speed limit. it's unfortunate they both lost their lives. >> reporter: traffic caused a back up on bay bridge, today's crash caused a closure. residents say they've long known the dangers of highway 1. add local construction and people in a hurry and the risks increase. >> devil slide is not an easy commute and not friendly to people who will not slow down. >> reporter: in both fatal

crashes, the motorcyclists were wearing helms. but the highway patrol says in both cases the motorcyclists were going so fast that the helmets were not enough to save their lives. live in pacifica, ken wayne, ktvu channel 2 news. new information tonight on an accident in yuba county that led to the downing of seven telephone poles along highway 7. the suspected drink driver knocked over the first poll around 4:20 this morning. a red pickup truck was weaving in and out of travel before sliding into the pole. the driver was able to keep ongoing. but then a big rig got caught in the downed wires and ended up pulling down six other telephone poleless. need less to say that accident closed the freeway most of the day. the case involves claims of price fixing for lcd flat

screens and computer models. samsung, sharp are among those targeted. a judge must approve the deal and court papers show the companies are still disputing the allegations of price fixing. a leading indicator shows prices fell in october in most large u.s. cities and are now down to 2003 levels. nationally the price index fell 3.4% when compared with october of last year. in san francisco, october prices were down 4.7% year to year. now offsetting the news from the housing market today is a report showing consumer confidence has risen to its highest level in eight months. patti lee tell us even though people may be spending the numbers here may be a bit misleading. >> reporter: across the bay area and the country --

>> i spent way more this year. >> reporter: shoppers were in the mood to buy. >> i spent over $200 on gifts. >> reporter: slightly better jobs numbers and a recovering job market fueled people's confidence to spent. also up holiday sales. >> higher sales that's a good sign. but what's really driving those sales? >> reporter: brand strategist walker says the perceived benefit of selling more merchandise may be misleading. >> this has been one of the biggest years where retailers have had to discount by really high margins. big retailers can really sustain that trend, but smaller retailers they've really been killed in this environment. >> reporter: real estate agent kirk mike says that consumer confidence is rock solid, after all housing prices in most

markets are sliding. >> people can't cash out of their smaller homes and move up unless they have a good job. if you are a masters degree and your company is doing well, great. but there's not enough here. >> reporter: at the mall in daly city these shoppers plan to spend money. not because they have a lot, or think they will, but because they're getting more for it. in alameda, patti lee, ktvu news. the mix news on the u.s. economy and light trading on wall street kept stocks dry today. we found another sign that people may be feeling more confidence about the economy. what we discovered about people's spending habits as we ring in 2012. that story coming up. what i put up here on live storm tracker 2 is the dewpoint temperatures. in santa rosa it's 45.

but look at the due points 39 and 35. what does the dewpoint tell me? that's as cold as it can get in napa tonight. 39 is as cool as it's going to get in santa rosa. once that temperature is reached fog is formed. once fog is formed, there's a release of the heat. farmers and agricultural insurancers really pay attention to the dewpoint. most temperatures were above freezing. these were the highs from today, highs tomorrow a little bit warmer than these. as we come back in a bit, the five day forecast with your weekend in view and out there aways i got a chance at some showers, we'll talk about those as well. san francisco firefighters are helping tally a receipt for a fundraiser going to help the

family of a fallen teenagers teenagers -- teenager. his family cannot afford their funeral. >> a lot of money, they are very rich in family and love and caring but we know they needed a lot of help and they didn't have any money to bury their son. >> reporter: enrique's father told us he's amazed by all the sport. we're told they've already raced $6,500 in donations from three groups. the gift of life, you would never guess that this bay area firefighter was very close to death. what saved his life and what he's now asking everyone to consider

saves lives is now in a

day's work for a man who's turning around and thanking a complete stranger for saving his. maureen naylor shows us how the san francisco firefighter is now calling on others to do the same. >> reporter: the applause and balloons today seemed appropriate because not too long ago this san francisco fire captain with an infectious smile did not think he would be around to hug family and friends. >> doctors even told me that i probably didn't have a good chance of making it. one day my whole entire family is there and without saying it, you're saying goodbye. >> reporter: the 53-year-old benecia father shared his store with members of the san francisco plaque firefighters association. about how a heart donor named danny saved his life. >> a person that i did not even know decided to be a donor. i was told at 3:00 a.m. on may 9, 2010 that there was a heart for me. >> reporter: now back at work, captain robinson will be one of

28 people riding on the donate life float. joining him 26-year-old emily fennel from yuba city who this year became the first person in the west coast to receive a hand transplant. the float will also feature floral pictures of donors. as for captain robinson -- >> so i am, i am very happy -- >> reporter: he became emotional before hugging his 21- year-old son who made a bedside pact with his father that he would do his best in school if his father would do his best to get better. >> as a father and son we shook on it. he lived up to his word, and i am still trying to do it on a daily basis for him. an estimated 47 million people will be watching the parade on monday. captain robinson says he's riding for the thousands of people in california alone who are still waiting for a donor.

in oakland, maureen naylor, ktvu channel 2 news. designers and decorators are working against time in southern california to get floats ready for the upcoming tournament of roses parade. the foundation is dedicating its float to the late elizabeth taylor who spent her lifetime getting the word out about aids. the 123rd edition of the parade is set to get underway monday january 2nd. last year when new year's eve fell on a friday night, san francisco general says it saw a 50% increase in patients compared to the year before. doctors at california pacific medical center say they expect this saturday night will be

their busiest night all year with a flood of patients coming in after the bars close at 2:00 a.m. >> we're almost certain that we'll see almost double the volume that we would see on a normal saturday night. so we've actually doubled our coverages at all of our campuses. >> doctors say they'll be ready for alcohol poisoning cases as well as injuries from car accident, fights or just tripping and falling. this is -- this is the second day of kwanzaa the second day of african american holiday celebrations. in san francisco, folks celebrated kwanzaa under the city hall dome. kwanzaa is a seven day celebration of african american culture, history and community. it was accomplished 45 years ago and features a feast, gift giving and a candlelighting ceremony. the count down to the new year has already begun for many

bay area restaurants and hotels. we will bring you behind the

people everywhere are making plans to ring in the new year and what we found tonight could be another sign that the economic is turning around. amber lee live with what restaurants and hotels are telling her about their big plans for new year's eve. >> reporter: frank we're at the w hotel where 600 guests are expected to walk through those doors and attend a new years eve party and the manager overseeing the event say tickets are selling faster than they have in the past few years. it's a party with plenty of

music including live performances. the food and beverage manager says the event is almost sold out. and bottles of high end champane are selling faster than previous years. >> i think people are ready to spend again. maybe they've been saving up for this special occasion. they want to bring in 2012 with a little more of a bang. >> reporter: the restaurant staff at 25lusk has a special menu prepared for new year's eve. >> this is a yellow fin ahi tuna that's going to be on the menu for new years eve. >> reporter: the champane has arrived. the restaurant opened a little more than a year ago during tough economic times, the chef and co-owner says it looks like business will continue to improve in 2012. >> we're really confidence, we're seeing that everything we do here gets a little better every day. >> reporter: the hyatt regency has 802 guest rooms and they

expect to be sold out new year's eve. the hotel is offering a special package that includes a private party upstairs at the regency club where they can enjoy a fireworks show. >> i think the economy is getting better and they're wanting to enjoy the new year. guests will be offered these hang over kits. they contain vitamin c, mints and other items as they leave the party. reporting live in san francisco, amber lee ktvu channel 2 news. a postchristmas tradition was revving up today in san francisco. dozens of trees were transformed from holiday center piece to bio fuel. the event promotes the city's 25th annual tree-cycling program. from here they're shipped to tracy where they're used as

fuel. >> if these go to the landfill they produce methane as they decompose. >> reporter: curb side recycling in san francisco begins next monday. and the to find a drop off location or when your city might be collecting trees curb side. go to ktvu.com and click on the christmas tree recycling tree. the fbi says almost a half million criminal backgrounds checks were conducted for potential gun owners in the six days before christmas. the busiest day ever was this year's black friday. the day after thanksgiving was almost 129,000 background checks. the fbi didn't offer a theory but the national rifle association says the figures show more people than ever feel they need guns for self- defense. we are exactly one week away from the iowa caucuses and the traditional kick off to the presidential election campaign.

and as emily smyth tells us, iowa is still up for grabs with no clear front runner in the american field. >> reporter: the road to the white house begins with highways criss crossing iowa. >> every county and the state so far and i missed the mark by 250 to count, so congratulations. >> five of the major republican candidates are in iowa tuesday. newt gingrich's schedule shows a combined 900 miles on the campaign trail. mitt romney began on the east coast. >> i appreciate the support i have here in new hampshire but planned to be in iowa this evening. >> this is our opportunity. >> reporter: candidates filled diners and filled the air waves. >> if washington is the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it. >> reporter: a new american research group shows two

points separate the top two candidates. iowa's republican congressman steve king who's endorsement is coveted is part of that group. >> i thought i would come to a conclusion in september or october, it's nearly the end of december and a week from the caucus, i haven't gotten to that point where my head and my heart come together. >> reporter: it leaves candidates going the extra mile to gain support. >> i will ask you to be with me. >> hoping it pays off in the long road. nebraska senator ben nelson announced he will not seek reelection next year. the 70-year-old nelson said he was retiring to spend more time with his family. his retaoeufrplt will make it more difficult for democrats to maintain their majority -- his retirement will make it more difficult for democrats to maintain their majority. a fire marshal said the deadly blaze was sparked by

fireplace embers left in a bucket in the home's mud room. badger and the friend escaped but the fire killed badger's three daughters and her parents. honda a long time fixture at city council meetings was found dead in his home today. oakland major jean quan said tonight honda was a man who devoted himself to city poll sicks ticks and -- to city politics and will never be replaced. his family says he had been feeling ill. back here in 10 minutes we will be talking about rain drops that could visit you this bay area weekend, i'll see you back here in 10 minutes. promises promises, how

california governor jerry brown looked back today at his first year in office, the second time around calling it a success. he spoke of more belt nightening. >> so many gathered for so little. >> reporter: joking aside the governor talked about the budget. >> we cut the budget in half in one year. this coming year that will dominate the first six months. >> reporter: that budget was passed without republican

support for a vote on taxes so it was an all cuts budget that cut millions from higher education and service programs. >> we have an initiative, it's now being analyzed by the attorney general. money is coming into the bank account. and we will give the voters a choice. >> republicans say brown is taxing voters to bail out sacramento. and countered today but saying brown's first year was weak. >> i said dad, history doesn't pay attention to the former california governors. >> reporter: january will be a busy month for governor brown. the governor says he can guarantee that his new budget that he will unveil next month will contain billions of the

dollars in additional cuts. in sacramento, ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. the u.s. state department tonight is down playing an iranian threat about what that country will do if the west imposes sanctions. an iranian leader says if sanctions are imposed iran will close the strait of samun. a states department spokesman called the threat nothing but luster. in the past the obama administration has said that the united states has a plan to keep the strait open in the event of a crisis. the administration is also considering whether or not the bar the president of yemen from coming to the united states for medical treatment. a lot of people in yemen want to see abdala solei punished.

the united states is concerned that granting him a visa might seem like the united states is trying to protect him. impassioned pleas from the -- activists say at least 40 people were killed just yesterday. >> the neighborhood has been under attack for five days. now the regime has hidden the tanks because you were there. by coming here, you are protecting the people. about 60 arab managers arrived last month. they are the first international observers allowed in since march. the monitors are supposed to ensure that the league follows

-- hasemi says she and 20 other female protesters were subjected to virginity checks by the military police. in north korea the two day funeral for the late dictator kim jung il is took place. since his death on december 17th. state media have portrayed his son kim jung un as the new supreme leader. it's one of the best known bar-b-ques in the bay area. big nates has closed. the new restaurant that

last years the owners of fly bar and soltice kept the name. the marketplace is doing a quick remodel in hopes of opening next week. and welcome back, we've got a nice little evening out there. it's cool but not freezing. so temperatures in those cold spots are not going to be in the mid-20s like they have been. you're not going to see a lot of frost, temperatures in the mid- to upper 30s. fog will form, in the napa valley and up toward fairfield in the usual spot. valley fog tomorrow morning

when you wake up. not enough frost, sure up by the river, a little bit frost. but for most of us not as much. in these inland bay valleys headed into your wednesday morning, we're going to see more clouds moving in. those clouds will field temperatures on the mild side. we have cloud cover and those clouds are keeping things a little bit warmer. they've also increased the moisture in the surface. we've had on shore winds today as well. that's pushed cool or moist relatively warner marine air. here come the high clouds. this is our computer model, i want to show you, variable cloudiness. the reason that's a big deal this year is because it indicates to me that the jet stream is trying to work its way south and slip south a little bit. we haven't been seeing clouds haven't we. that's because the high pressure is so dominant. daytime high out toward san

jose 65 degrees. your wednesday, cool and mild as we go through the day and through the day and through the weekend. here's the first weather system it takes a shot at the high pressure. this is 2:00 a.m. on thursday. so tomorrow night or early thursday morning, we see a few sprinkles. that slows the widdeling down. this is not going to do a lot for the rain buckets but it indicates that the ridge is trying to give way. that the atmosphere is becoming strong enough that it will begin to bump this out of the way. i hope that's the case. some models are suggesting significant rain next week and some are saying no rain next week. ripple clouds with what's happening things are definitely trying to change things. it's such a difference deal from last year. and last year it was storm after storm.

and i had to tell you, here comes another one, here comes another one. now i'm going, the clouds have shifted, maybe in five days we'll see rain. very different year. as we go through time, clouds in the forecast. an indication that the ridge is trying to break down. and i showed you the numbers earlier frank and gasia. 38% of rainfall average, a good strong two or three storms and we're back in business. but i don't see them. >> that's the problem. >> that could change. >> it was interesting to see debra villalon's piece earlier. she was showing what it looked like this day last year. 49er hall of famers jerry rice and lonnie lot are helping to fight hunger ahead of a bowl in san francisco. they're helping to raise awareness about crack anti

hunger campaign in the lead up to the game. >> i've had a chance to play in great bowls but knowing that we're making a big difference here in the community but really around the country in serving people is something that i think is very special. >> reporter: as for the game, ucla and illinois are scheduled to kick off saturday at 12:30. rice remains biased and moving for ucla where

joe fonzi is in tonight for mark ibanez. >> the personnel move the 49ers made today described as unexpected. san francisco is keen on healthy receivers but felt edwards was no longer a viable part of the plan as he was released. edward was plagued with injuries, edwards totaled just 15 catches for 181 yards and no touchdowns. 49ers have not announced a roster addition. when you win a division championship you expect your players to be recognized for probowl consideration. that was the case today for 18

members of the 49ers. justin smith made a critical play early in the season. this forced fumble that secured a win over philadelphia. smith and three other 49ers were named to the nfc's starting defense. the others are patrick willis and carlos rogers and teshaun goldson. gore became the 49ers all time leading rusher and will be an offensive starter in his third probowl appearance. also named as tackles, joe staley, andy lee and david akers. 10 additional 49ers were selected as nfc alternates. the raiders will have raid -- have three players in the

probowl team. the raiders still alive, joining seymour, janikowski and shean lechler. the warriors got updated information about steph curry before their game against the knicks. curry once again tweaked his problem ankle. an mri confirmed the diagnosis of the sprain. that makes curry's status day- to-day. tomorrow night's game will be the warriors third straight at home to start the new season. brown trying to work himself into playing shape. he's not drawing any conclusions of small sacrifices just too nice. >> that's just one game. we're 1-1 right now. our mission is to get to the play offs and make some noise in the play offs. chicago is a great team, no discredit to them but i think we played better and we're the most aggressive team out there. >> purdue and north carolina state both winners in bowl games tonight. that's it. >> all right, thank you.

>> and thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news, we'll see you the next time news breaks. and ktvu's morning news begins tomorrow at 4:30 and we are always here for you, at ktvu.com and with videos on ktvu's mobile app. [ mom ] hey guys.

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