new this morning, east bay officers honored today for their fight against a deadly fire. >> reporter: good morning. i'm christie smith. could the oakland as be moving their show uptown to a new stadium? we'll tell you about a new plan. who likes it and who doesn't, coming up. and a live look outside. a chilly and wet start. december 1st. this is "today in the east bay." from nbc bay area, reporting what matters to you, this is "today in the east bay."

good morning, everyone. i am scott mcgrew. it is 4:30. we'll get you started with a cold and wet hour-by-hour forecast and rob mayeda. good morning, rob. >> good morning, scott. we're seeing a little fog out there as well this morning and our temperatures mostly 30s, maybe not quite as cold as those 20s we've seen at this hour the last few mornings but look out for patchy fog towards the tri-valley. we also have a spare the air alert for basically a no burn day. no wood-burning fireplaces or stoves as we have particulate matter pollution starting to ramp up. the worst of it up in the north bay valleys. not much in the way of clouds but we've got showers moving down the north coast and that will start to arrive around the east bay a little later on this week. despite the chilly start to the morning, not really a bad forecast. you can see some of the warmer places around pleasanton close to 60, even oakland near 60 degrees. we'll be watching increasing chances of rain as we wrap up the rest of the week. we have a look at that in the

seven-day forecast in a few minutes. let's turn to mike and a cold, wet commute that's going to be slow as well. >> likely affecting -- right now affecting the folks working overnight, scott, the construction crews for caltrans. much of this is clearing up or has cleared up. 880 at 92, there's still construction in the southbound direction approaching 92 around winton is where you'll find a lane, maybe two still closed at this time. but access over the san mateo bridge has reopened so you do have a full interchange 880 at 92 itself. 66th avenue, the off-ramp might still have activity on either direction for another half an hour until the last clears up passing the coliseum. i'll give you a live look at that in just a few minutes. right here we'll focus on eastbound 580 which reopened just after 4:00. eastbound is not your commute, westbound is your commute direction with just 13 minutes. obviously a light commute right now because there are not many cars coming through that tri-valley area at this hour. play ball is what the city

of oakland is what the as will continue to do and today we get our first look at a new plan that would have the boys of summer playing near jack london square. that's where christie smith is live. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, scott. you know, it's certainly got a catchy name, victory court ballpark. it would have housing and retail all just a ball throw away from where we are here at jack london square. oakland's incoming mayor, jean quan, has thrown her support behind this new plan they're going to be talking about tonight at the planning commission meeting here in oakland. now, the site is actually between ford street and embarcadero right off 880. on the one hand you have supporters like quan who says this fits in with the overall redevelopment of the waterfront. the ballpark would give a boost to developers interested in the area, but the city would also have to figure out plans for more than a dozen businesses that would have to make way for the ballpark. now, for watchers of this will

they stay or go saga, there are plenty of questions like whether major league baseball will even allow the as to move to san jose where the giants have rights or might the team move somewhere else. even for those fans who want to keep the as here in oakland and they like the sound of the oakland as, there are questions about how you'd fit tens of thousands of baseball fans around at jack london square and whether that would make interstate 880 even more than a parking lot than it sometimes is. the planning commission is going to take this up. if you're interested, it should be a pretty heated meeting. no decision expected tonight but they'll be talking about this over at city hall tonight at 6:00. >> all right, thank you. now to a follow-up of a story yesterday. it could mean a boost to oakland's bottom line. new investors will pump millions into the square. cheryl hurd talked to business owners and they're cautiously

optimistic. >> reporter: the port of london commissioners have given the okay for developers of jack london square to go into partnership with new developers. one business owner tells me he's heard that before. >> we have a little something here, a little something over there but there's no flow to the whole area. >> reporter: jerry rossi says jack london square needs some flow. he's the owner of the fat lady, a bar and restaurant that's been a fixture in the area for three generations. >> i've seen a lot of plans. whatever they were going to bring in for some reason or another always seemed to fail. somebody moved out before they could lasso them into a group. >> reporter: the port saying okay to the ellis partners who wants to go into business aan investment group led by the market street partners. the new investors would take over 98% of the jack london square development project. the marriage would bring in an estimated $400 million to the

area. that has been promised a lot with very little return. >> it starts and then all of a sudden things just start to fall apart and then whatever it was that they got started, just pieces start falling away. >> reporter: the financial infusion in jack london square is good news for people like david diggs and lauren nagle. >> i like to go out and i would rather not go across the bridge to do it. >> there's been a lot of promises so i'm excited about the possibility of something happening, but i feel a little bit like i'm not going to hold my breath. >> reporter: ellis partners has already invested $130 million in jack london square n oakland, cheryl hurd, "today in the east bay." an east bay man jailed for three and a half years while awaiting trial for a crime he says he didn't commit will have to wait even longer. a hearing to discuss dna evidence in the case was supposed to happen yesterday but

it was postponed until january 18th. dwayne ewing was arrested in 2006 and a year later charged with a kidnap that dates back to 1994. there was a rape as well. detectives say a condom found at the crime scene in oakland hills links ewing to the crime but her mother says her son could have been at the crime scene 16 years ago by coincidence with his girlfriend. >> i hoped today that we would have gotten better news or maybe he would have even been able to get out in so many days, but that did not occur. >> miss small's nephew ialso charged with being an accomplice in that crime. special honors today for the fairfield police department. a number of officers will receive distinguished service medals for their response to a deadly fire in april that killed four children. other awards being handed out, special recognition of newly hired employees, reinstatements,

promotions and other awards. that ceremony at the city takes place at 3:30. a student caravan will make a stop at congressman jerry mcnurny's east bay office. they're trying to urge the lawmaker to help pass the dream act. it would create a path of legal status for undocumented immigrants if they serve in the military or get a college degree. house speaker nancy pelosi and senate majority leader harry reid both promised they'll make the dream act a priority during the lame duck session. it may be cold tonight but don't use the fireplace to stay warm. the bay area quality management district has issued its first spare the air alert today. that means air quality is expected to be unhealthy because of weather. so there's a ban on burning wood inside and outside. commuters are also urged to take public transportation as a way of decreasing pollution.

>> all right, 4:38, scott. continuing with that public service announcement, you're talking about mass transportation. every little bit helps so we'll encourage folks to get some of those cars off the roadway. right now no delays for ace train and that takes you from stock ton all the way down through tracy and is an alternate on folks on 580. of course there are only three trains in the morning so if you miss though trains, you take those roadways. also coming out of dublin and pleasanton, the bart system has no delays reported as we get a good start. just under 40 trains for the system right now. you can take it from dublin or pittsburg. join up at the millbrae station with caltrain. it takes you as far south as san jose but there are a couple that take you to morgan hill and gilroy so a great alternate. right now we'll look at the bay bridge. that upper deck has a light

volume of traffic coming over from san francisco but there's debris reported around treasure island. it is a large four by four, ten-foot long piece of wood but we don't burn that overnight because there is that spare the air day. we'll have to clear it by other means. back to you. >> thank you, mike. let's turn to rob. a wet and cold commute ahead of us. >> yeah, we're seeing a little patchy fog in a few spots this morning and may have some mist underneath some of that fog. otherwise oakland looks dry. 38 degrees. it's chilly this morning. skies cleared out overnight allowing temperatures to drop off. maybe not quite as cold as the last few mornings but 35 is pretty chilly in concord and down to 34 in lever more. as you just heard we have a spare the air alert for spoke, particulate matter pollution. you get stable weather patterns, the winds are light. the smoke collects in the valleys and just settles in. for the areas in the north bay valleys, you can see air quality

levels really in the unhealthy range. i think we'll start to see that come thursday and friday. for now the rain is far to the north, mendocino county north. then areas north of santa rosa may see an isolated shower or two. for today it's going to be kind of mild. the afternoon temperatures starting to warm up a little bit. tomorrow into friday here comes the chance of seeing some rain, especially thursday night into friday morning. we'll see rain chances on the increase as we approach the weekend. around east bay and beyond, some 60s showing up. 59 around richmond and 58 in benicia. coming up we'll have a look at your seven-day forecast in a few minutes. back to you. a former oakland athletic gets ready to head across the bay. we'll tell you which former mvp signed with the giants. and a plan for the future. the white house ready to release its plan to slash the budget deficit. reporting what matters to you, you're watching "today in the east bay" with scott mcgrew,

traffic with mike inouye. (announcer) while there are some home disasters you can't avoid, there is one you can. septic system breakdowns affect 1.2 million homes each year. septic backups can cost about six thousand dollars in expense, and countless hours of repair. rid-x. help save yourself from disaster.

welcome back. you're looking at a live picture of a very dark and cold oakland. it's going to be wet, it's going to be cold. the warriors are off today. they'll need it after the beating they took last night from tim duncan and the spurs. in the golden state's defense, the spurs are the best team in the nba, plus it's hard to beat a team when tim duncan is on his game, and he was last night. duncan with a triple-double, 15 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists to boot. the spurs win, 118-98. the warriors host phoenix tomorrow. a former oakland athletic headed across the bay. former mvp miguel tejeda is now a giant. he'll join san francisco for a

year and get $6.5 million. he will fill the spot at short left by juan uribe. he signed with los angeles on monday. 4:44, oh, 4:45, just changed but we're looking at a 4 by 4 on the bay bridge. it's blocking one lane, maybe two because it's ten feet long. sounds like they're getting by in the other three lanes. we'll watch for any traffic breaks. meanwhile the maze moves pretty smoothly. you see a little slowing on highway 13 but that's typical as more folks hit the road. no sensor issues here, carquinez bridge and the benicia bridge. for the north bay there might be some fog through the area as well this morning and definitely cold so you're going to need to

use the defroster. antioch speeds are still around 65 but those will dip minutes from now. the slowing is usually 5:30 when you see the speeds dip. right near the water we could have patchy fog for you this morning as well. you can see mostly 30s outside. san francisco 44 degrees, 38 in san jose, 31 in gilroy. you can see mainly clear skies around the east bay. some high clouds off to the north. for today at least most of the showers will be off north of ukiah, maybe as far south as santa rosa for the afternoon. you can see as we go hour by hour we'll be looking at rainfall totals eventually as you approach the rainfall. most of that coming down for friday into early saturday. temperatures around the east bay and beyond 59 degrees. in livermore some of the warmer places south of 580 we'll see temperatures in the low 60s. oakland near 60, despite the chilly start. upper 50s around fairfield. your east bay seven-day forecast

shows showers showing up late tomorrow. friday and saturday plan on rain off and on and a few more showers as we wrap up the weekend. new this morning, there may be a bidding war between two bay area companies. facebook might try to buy groupon. google had been in the market. groupon board will meet today. google stock trying to bounce back. for more on news before the bell let's turn to hampton pearson who is live in washington, d.c. good morning, hampton. >> reporter: good morning, scott. as a matter of fact, futures are lower this morning, continuing monday's downward trend. stocks dropped as worries about europe's debt crisis, which has shifted from ireland to portugal and spain, and whether they'll need a bailout. those overshadowed strong holiday results from this weekend. but europe mixed at this hour. we get data today on home prices, manufacturing and consumer confidence.

ben bernanke talks about the economy this afternoon. the dow losing 39 points on monday to close at 11,052. the nasdaq off 9 to 2525. the congressional budget office is saying the t.a.r.p. bailout will now cost taxpayers a mere $25 billion. that's much lower than the obama administration's estimate of less than $50 billion, which was criticized as too rosie when it was released back in september. the cbo says with bailed-out companies returning to help the government will spend less on aid to aig and automakers like general motors. scott, back to you. >> good news, hampton, thank you. time is running out for some home tax credits. you have until the end of december to take advantage of some tax credits for energy-saving home improvements. now, these credits include installing wood pellet stoves, energy-efficient furnaces, water heaters, air conditioning systems, insulating roofs,

windows, doors and wall and ceiling insulation. there's a full list available at energystar.gov. this credit covers about a third of the cost, up to $1500. hannukah begins at sundown tonight and ends eight days later. that is the earliest start for the holiday in 20 years. the national menorah will be lit during a ceremony near the white house. a tradition started by president bill clinton. each night another light is lit. many families also have special treats they like to eat. president obama's debt commission expected to unveil its final proposal to slash the u.s. budget deficit today, but the group may hold off on a vote until later in the week to drum up some support for the plan. today in the east bay' tracie potts has details. >> reporter: are you willing to pay higher taxes to keep america from going even further in the red? in an ap poll this week, most

americans said no. but president obama insists continuing tax breaks for the wealthy will cost america $700 billion we can't afford. >> it would be unwise and unfair, particularly at a time when we're contemplating deep budget cuts that require broad sacrifice. >> reporter: republicans argue the tax breaks will help. >> stopping all the looming tax hikes and cutting spending would in fact get the economy moving again. >> reporter: the president's new tax team hopes to hammer out a compromise with republicans. they meet for the first time today. also today the debt commission reports its controversial plan to put america back in the black. slow down social security benefits, raise the retirement age to 69, raise the gas tax 15 cents a gallon, pay cuts and job cuts for federal workers and limit tax credits and deductions. >> this deficit and this debt is like a cancer and it's going to

destroy our country from within if we don't face up to it, and face up to it quickly. >> reporter: but right now they don't have the votes to support it. in washington, tracie potts, today in the east bay. now for a look at what's coming up later today in the bay we say good morning to laura garcia-cannon in the newsroom. good morning, laura. >> good morning, scott. good morning, everyone. despite the cold temperatures, a lot of you won't be able to get warm next to the fireplace. we'll explain why. and keeping your family safe at the dinner table. we have more on new rules aimed at making sure your food doesn't make you sick. plus, find out how you can win a prize worth more than $4,000 and all you have to do is log on to our website. those stories and more coming up later, "today in the bay." >> i'm guessing the rules say i can't win. >> i don't think so. well, it is worlds aids day. oakland one of the many cities around the globe that will go red tonight lighting up buildings with a red light. the national coalition of 100 bhak women will give out rapid hiv testing tonight at 5:00. it will be held at the allen

temple baptist church family life center. oakland raiders are helping aspiring young football stars make history. loin backer sam williams and his tackling the odds foundation will present a check to the youth football organization. the money was donated by raiders players. it will help the dynamites make their trip to the american youth national football association competition and championship in florida for the first time in the organization's 44-year history. the foundation committed to helping disadvantaged youth football players. well, that's what the city of oakland is hoping to keep san jose from stealing their home team. later today we'll get the first look at a new plan to entice the as to play near jack london square. christie smith has more. >> reporter: good morning, scott. tonight is really the first chance for the public to have their say on this and really get a closer look at what's being talked about, the next step of all of this is an environmental

impact report on what might happen here with this if it does happen indeed at jack london square. we're talking about a 39,000-seat ballpark called the victory court ballpark with retail and housing bundled in. already, though, some neighbors are raising a red flag about potential problems with things like air quality, noise and mostly traffic impacts in the area. the site, though, is actually over near 4th street and embarcadero over by 880 and it includes about 2500 parking spaces over near the lany college parking lot. everyone around here certainly wants to keep the as in oakland but it's unclear with the parking exactly how everyone would get around. on the upside you've got the incoming mayor jean quan throwing her support behind this, but questions still linger over whether major league baseball will allow the as to even move to san jose where the giants have territorial rights. an environmental impact report is expected to be done next

spring, but tonight the planning commission taking it up for the first time. if you want to weigh in, you can go on over and head to city hall. the meeting starts at 6:00. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the east bay." >> just to be clear, this is an idea by oakland. as far as we know the as still want to move to san jose. >> reporter: yeah, as far as we know. we're not really hearing anything about how the as actually feel about this, but this is something that the city of oakland is talking about, the planning commission, even the incoming mayor. again, this is an idea. we've heard a lot of ideas about this, but this is the newest one. the one difference, though, is that they do seem to have some real firm ideas on exactly where it would be and they're looking at things like parking, which is the big concern for people coming off of 880. so certainly, you know, at least they have thought it out. >> all right, thank you much. well, an ugly battle no homeowner wants to fight, fleas, roaches and bed bugs.

vicky nguyen has an answer that may surprise you. >> reporter: it's not a sight homeowners want to see. >> i'll go to million dollar homes that have cleaning people or nannies and they're immaculate. >> reporter: the exterminator coming over to take care of an unwanted infestation. >> they're like i'm not dirty, i swear. >> reporter: people who don't have pets finding themselves with fleas. >> a big problem nowadays is bed bugs as well. and they bring vacuums from customer to customer. >> reporter: now pest control specialist says he solved the mystery. >> while the maid is cleaning the rest of the house, maybe something jumped on and then she takes it to the next house. >> reporter: he believes cleaning services are carrying them. >> as they're vacuuming, they're vacuuming up the eggs of the fleas. fleas spread through the eggs.

>> recommend to clients to use their own vacuum cleaning, own broom, own mop, own rags. >> reporter: the owner of b & b cleaning service says he changes out rags, brooms and mops if his clients don't want to use their own supplies. he says anyone entering your house should use protective shoe covers too. >> bed bugs aren't attached to the bootie but they love the cracks of the shoe. >> reporter: mystery solved for hundreds of homeowners now realizing their cleaning services may have unknowingly acted as bug taxis instead. vicky nguyen, "today in the east bay." coming up, how some people say pot is helping california save jobs and keep the public safe. plus money could be waiting. the irs says it has hundreds of unclaimed checks for people in the bay area. we'll tell you how to figure out if one is yours. and the surf could soon be up.

the window is open for the big wave contest. we'll find out if the mavericks could happen soon. brent and laura coming up.

i was told that i was at risk for sudden cardiac death. i was 23 years old, i wasn't overweight. i never dreamed this would happen to me. when the doctor told me i had three blocked arteries, i felt like i was punched in the gut. i found out that one in three women die from heart disease. how did i not know that?

new this morning, families all over the bay area could soon lose much-needed unemployment checks. we'll tell you what's happening today and if there could be changes coming up in a live report. warming up to a fire in a