new this morning, technology could soon take over the golden gate bridge toll plaza entirely. good morning to you. i'm marla tellez. we'll tell you what this means for drivers coming up in a live report. the search is on for missing bay area teacher. find out why some are asking why it took so long to start looking for her. eampblts the bay area refinery closes. that means you could pay more at the pump very soon. this is a live look at the south bay this morning. record temperatures once again. christina has a look at the forecast this thursday, january 27th, "today in the bay." good morning to you. it is 6:00. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm scott mcgrew in for brent. christie that in loren is getting us ready with the hour-by-hour forecast. good morning to you. it will be a beautiful day once

again. we are seeing temperatures in the san francisco area about as warm as they are in august. the average high for the month of august is 69 degrees. that's what we are forecasting today in san francisco. hey, it is still wintertime. high pressure have the reason for it being so warm. the change will come in as early as tomorrow with the onshore flow. it could happen as early as tonight to stop the down-sloping winds. today's forecast is tricky. we are looking similar to what we saw yesterday, but i think heading throughout the morning tomorrow the biggest difference will be we won't see the really dense fog in the san joaquin and east bay. this morning we have really dense fog in places like livermore, concord and fairfield. take it easy out there. santa rosa is checking in with a half mile of visibility. that's the case until 11:00 a.m. after that the sun comes out to warm us up once again to about 69 degrees in napa. 69 degrees in oakland.

and 70 in los gatos. we'll talk about how long these warm temperatures will last, not quite as warm tomorrow, but still unseasonably warm. the numbers are on the way. hey, mike, how are you? we are doing all right, except for 880. we'll take you out here. the map shows slowing approaching the davis street with a two-car accident. here's a live look from the coliseum with the taillights slow approaching 98 and continuing down past davis street. that's the next exit to the south of the coliseum. two lanes were blocked until a few minutes ago. chp's lights moved off the live shot there. they could be clearing tall lanes. for the time being, get on south of marina boulevard. also, christina talked about fog in the area. this is venetia. this is park street just off the venetian bridge. we have similar views across the cartinas and venetian bridges. that's why we are advising lower speeds in the south bay. six days after a teacher in

marine county disappeared police are now searching for this teacher. >> debra schmidt was declared missing after she failed to show up for work last week on thursday at tara linda high. they have leads in the case. we are told schmidt left behind her school keys and a cryptic thank you note on the blackboard along with her car at her home. a plan for the golden gate bridge could take a huge toll on jobs. this could be the first in the state to do away with human toll takers. >> reporter: scott, good morning to you. just like it has in so many realms, technology could take over the golden gate bridge toll plaza. this is because today the golden gate bridge highway and transportation district will meet to consider eliminating the bridge's 32 toll takers and replace them with fast track receivers and video cameras.

now, the move would save a little more than $2 million a year. $22 million over ten years. here's how it would work. cameras would record the license plate of every driver without a fast track transponder and send a bill to the car's registered owner as the end of the month approaches. currently 66% of drivers use fast track already. those who don't have it can link their credit card to their license plate and can pay online, at a bridge kiosk or calling 511. a spokesperson for the bridge district says it is an attractive plan since the bridge is facing an $89 million deficit largely because government funding for the bridge district has been virtually eliminated in recent years. now, if approved the system would be installed late this year to be tested before going live in december of 2012. now, as for those 32 bridge toll takers, a bridge spokesperson says those who are not eligible for retirement would have the

option of being retrained for another job within the bridge's district. live in san francisco this morning, marla tellez, "today in the bay." thank you. don't be surprised if gas prices reach $4 a gallon by memorial day in the bay area. it has happened before and could happen again. the valero refinery is going to be closed longer than expected for maintenance. it was supposed to be shut down for five weeks but now it hack expanded two more weeks. nonetheless, this could drive gas prices up more especially considering the shell oil refinery in martinez is expected to shut down before june. another refinery in cartinas is expected for a major maintenance project later this year. to make it easier for you to save money, according to gasbuds did.com gas prices are $3.38 in san jose.

$3.36 in oakland. this is for regular unleaded. so check gasbuddy.com for the best deals close to you. an accident in oakland took the life of a 1-year-old girl. the alameda county coroner's office says the driver hit the little girl outside her home around 9:00 last night. now, investigators are calling this an accident. we are, of course, trying to get more details about how this happened. the family says the little girl's organs will be donated. we know a little bit more about the apparent murder of a union leader in west oakland. police found 64-year-old beris bingham dead in his home on tuesday. he suffered a traumatic injury. people who knew him say he was having trouble or they were having trouble with the news that the fact that he was murdered. >> i felt threatened. i think that i hope no public official has to be in that

predicament or situation. >> bingham was community koord nay forfor the services national union. he was the first african-american elected to the alamedas school board. this man is getting death threats. last week lee accused rush limbaugh of mocking the chinese culture on his show. now he is asking all of limbaugh's radio sponsors to pull their ads. he says he received similar threats after he criticized sarah palin's appearance at a california college last year. he says he won't be changing his schedule or habits. and his security detail has not increased so far. one of america's safest cities is investigating the seventh homicide in just a few weeks. people in san jose are calling on city leaders and police to make their neighborhood safer. mayor chuck reed will meet with members of the community at a meeting of our lady of

guadeloupe catholic church. community activists say the recent spike in violent crime understood scores the city's need for a police chief who is committed to strong community policing and gang prevention. right now the city is still searching for a new chief. the men on the short list are acting chief chris moore and current oakland police chief anthony bass. >> a new poll shows almost 2/3 of californians are in favor of a special election in june. governor brown says the special election is necessary to get the state budget under control. according to the public policy in california, 66% of likely voters agree. that is compared to the 50% behind the 2009 special election and the 40% behind former governor schwarzenegger's 2005 special election. the poll also asks people about the governor's budget proposal. 68% of californians are generally satisfied with the plan while 29% are dissatisfied. now, when it comes to

governor brown himself, the jury is still out. 41% of californians approve of him so far. 19% disapprove. and 39% say they are still undecided. the people are not as forgiving when it comes to the state legislature. 26% people of approve of what lawmakers are doing. 19% don't have an opinion. louis carubias is leaving the department after four years. in a statement the outgoing chief says, quote, it is time for me to step aside and let the new city manager direct his or her own team. now, the interim city manager tells the daily news the chief was not in danger of losing his job. his last day will be february 16th. this afternoon the giants' world champions trophy tour is making a stop in the south bay. fans will be able to see the trophy at the santa clara convention center from 1:30 to 3:30.

you can snap your own pictures while waiting in line but only a professional photographer will be taking pictures of fans with the trophy. the trophy then heads to sacramento. we were lucky enough to have this come to the newsroom. we are the official giants station, that had something to do with it. >> yeah, i was up close to it. i could see it for eternity. this is great giants' training weather. good morning to you. high pressure is firmly in control of our weather pattern. keeping all the cloud cover out of the area. we are driving in some really strong onshore winds. we have a santa an in wind setup in southern california keeping temperatures near 90 degrees in some cities like los angeles today. we are talking about maybe 80 degrees for l.a. 85 degrees in anaheim.

and it looks like heading throughout the next couple of days everything will change. we have a big system of low pressure. it is just off to our west right now, but you can see that well-defined core. now, what will happen heading throughout the next couple of days, it is going to swing over the big ridge of high pressure, but it will drive the cold front through the area heading through sunday. that may bring a little bit of rain to the north bayment and more importantly, it will bring about a stronger onshore flow, which is what we are typically used to at this time of the year. 37 degrees in gilroy. 46 degrees in san jose. 40 degrees in concord. everything has to do with the la nina pattern setting up in the pacific ocean. we'll talk about that coming up. watch out for the fog in the east bay. how is that impacting the drive? you have to lower your speeds near the cartinas and venetian bridges. we still don't have clearing from this accident at the coliseum. you can see another fire truck crossing over the freeway at 98. southbound the taillights are backing up from the coliseum. it is worse than it was ten

minutes ago. now the flashing lights at the top are gone, but you can see the stream lights moving slowly. two lanes are blocked at davis street heading down to 238. you may want to consider eastbound 580 as the volume of traffic is building as the morning continues. in the east bay, northbound 680 has construction with the closure of the on-ramp clearing. you have debris in the area through antioch. now back to you. it is 6:12. still to come, what smugglers are using to get drugs across the board. and a congressman fights the cafeteria that feeds him. why he is suing the capitol eatery. a man is accused of going after sacramento's mayor. see what happened coming up next. ♪ spread a little love today

♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ ♪ ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ need a little happiness to be ♪ ♪ living the life with me ♪ dee dee dee ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ need a little happiness to be ♪ ♪ living the life with me [ female announcer ] now you can take your philly even further with new philadelphia cooking creme. the next, you start one feeling bit off.fine. the moment you feel run down or achy, nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again.

oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. nearly two dozen flights into sfo were canceled this morning coming from the northeast that has been socked by another winter storm. "today in the bay's" peter alexander in live in greenwich, connecticut, and live with how those are handling snowmaggedon again. >> reporter: in tahoe we love this stuff up across the east where we have seen plenty of it. it was three to four inches an hour. it was historic. new york city, 19 inches in central park overnight. that means for the month they

have now hit a record. they have seen the most they have had in any january. they are an inch shy of how much they have seen in a month in its history. you have hundreds of flights canceled. you have power outages for hundreds of thousands. you have school out for new york, boston, d.c., you name it, everybody is out in the snow. and the most amazing thing, we looked at spring being 52 days away. if you have loved ones on the east coast or are trying to get here, bring the warm stuff. >> we would love to fly you out. dare i say we are approaching the 70s today in the south bay. >> reporter: hey, my family is in oakland. i would rather be home right now. >> they will be thinking of you. maybe next time we'll have you do a snow angel for us.

talk about reporter involvement. thank you, peter. >> reporter: all right. this afternoon a south bay police officer will face charges linked to a hell's angel conspiracy. a santa clara officer is expected to enter his plea today accused of a plot to give confidential records to hell's angel member william betancourt. viviana rodriguez was also arrested in the alleged plot. prosecutors say the officer offered up information to settle a bet. if convicted rojas and bennett face three years in prison. betancourt is eligible for 25 years to life under the state's three strikes law. this morning a former band member is under arrest for allegedly threatening the mayor of sacramento inside a restaurant. officers say fred nelson jr., the former drummer for the band oleander, approached the major yesterday inside the citizen hotel and asked to talk to him outside.

nelson tells us mayor kevin johnson said he couldn't go with him, so he gave the mayor a warning. >> no, i just told him that -- >> i felt threatened. i think, one, that i hope no public official has to be in that predicament or situation. >> i don't think it is a threat. i think of it as a warning. >> friend of nelson tell our sister station in sacramento he was diagnosed with a mental disorder and may have been off his medication. nelson says he's sorry. well, it took a while but after four months since the san bruno explosion, victims finally get donation checks from the city. the san bruno city council is handing out roughly $390,000 in individual and corporation donatio donations. people's homes were destroyed, yellow-tagged households get $4,000 each and $1,000 goes to each family who has minor damage from the explosion.

meantime, the parents of a young woman killed by the blast are filing a wrongful death lawsuit against pg&e. the parents of 20-year-old jessica moralis say nonetheless and ultrahazardous activity led to the death of their daughter. morales was visiting her boyfriend when the pipeline exploded engulfing the home in flames. nearly 26 million americans are now dealing with diabetes. the centers for disease control and prevention released the new estimate yesterday. that means 1 in 12 americans have the disease. that's a 9% increase from 2008 estimates. the cdc gives two reasons for the increase, more people developing obesity-related type two die buy tease and people who have it are actually living longer. encouraging news this morning for people looking for work. a new survey shows the economy is getting faster than predicted, growing faster. the latest ap economy survey shows employers will create more than 2 million jobs this year.

last year companies added half that number, but unemployment will stay chronically high at nearly 9% by the end of the year according to the prediction. a majority of economists say it will be at least 2016 or later before unemployment drops to normal rates of 5%. the fed is saying it will continue its aggressive moves to prop up the economy because it hasn't seen sufficient improvement to the size otherwise. right now we'll get a look at the forecast. it is 6:20 this morning. >> august-like temperatures. august. >> yeah, august-like temperatures is exactly right. now, september is traditionally the warmest month for san francisco. they average out to 70 degrees. but in august the average is 69 degrees, which is what we are forecasting for san francisco today. and we actually have a summertime setup down in southern california. santa ana winds are pumping making for 90-degree temperatures in some of the surrounding areas of anaheim. 85 degrees is the forecasted

high in anaheim today. 46 degrees in hayward. 46 in san jose. i saw a lot of people out on the streets yesterday with a flip-flop on or a short-sleeved shirt. very unusual for this time of the year as we have a very strong ridge of high pressure in place. and it really hasn't budged the last couple of days, but it is moving out. we want it to weaken enough to see a few light scattered showers, probably just a few in the north baby sunday. so that's the good news. the bad news is we are seeing a lot of growth from all of the sunshine. we had a wet december. a lot of sunshine in january. we are seeing a lot of blossoms early. that means heading through the next couple of months, two nor more winter months, you need to protect that growth. we did pruning at the heritage rose gardens in san jose yesterday. it was beautiful. i think laura garcia-cannon gave

me some wonderful tips. you helped me tremendously. i kind of looked like i was doing. >> you looked fabulous. that's amazing. >> well, hi black thumb didn't help me out yesterday. out to the roadways, we have an update for you. oakland southbound 880 we still have a problem hampered by an earlier accident. we have all lanes now cleared at davis street. the map will show you the live shot from the coliseum. the map shows the backup just before getting to the coliseum heading down past davis street. again, all lanes just cleared. 580 eastbound is showing a good alternative easily accessible to you. here's the difference. 880 northbound at the top of the screen is 15 minutes. southbound is 23 minutes. we usually don't have slowing in that direction. so there's 580 looking clear right there. for the bay bridge toll plaza, backups are starting there. back to you. thank you very much.

next on "today in the bay," the color-coded terror alert system is going away. we'll take a look at the new way the government plans to warn us about terror threats. and cutting access to twitter has not stopped protestors in egypt. find out what website they are using now. see what's happening today next. a live look outside this morning. warm temperatures as we have been talking about. stay with us.

twizzlers. the twist you can't resist.

good thursday morning to you. 6:25 right now. new this morning protests in egypt are stretching into the third day. activists want the president kicked out of office after 30 years. six people have died since the protests started on tuesday. egypt cut off access to twitter within its borders because that's what protesters were using to organize. now they have turned to takebook the promise the biggest

demonstration yet for tomorrow. the protest gained 55,000 followers in less than 24 hours. new this morning, secretary of homeland security janet napolitano will announce the color-coded system put into place after 9/11 will no longer be used. the obama administration has been discussing this for months but the official announcement will come later today. the colored warnings will be phased out in fave of a new advisory system. it will target specific areas when there's a credible threat that the government confirms. the new system is expected to start in april. it is 6:26 right now. still to come on "today in the bay" at 6:30, elton john called this magazine too much. find out how this store handled it. and in the forth north bay a refinery closed meaning you could pay more for your gas.

we'll have a live report next. and you are getting company out there at the toll plaza. we'll have a look at the backups as6:26 rroight now.hea. 6:26 right now. ay not new cortizone-10 hydratensive relieves it with moisturizers plus the power of cortizone-10. new hydratensive lotion.

new this morning, a bay area refinery is closed. so get ready to open your wallets. good morning, i'm mar lal tellez. we'll tell you how high gas prices could climb coming up in a live report. the stunning admission from the oakland police department about an equipment malfunction that could put their safety and yours in danger. and the mayor of the bay area's largest city comes home from the capital without any promises from the governor. we'll tell you what he's doing next to bring business back to the south bay. and record high temperatures expected across the bay area. a live look outside overlooking

san jose. a beautiful start to the morning. christina will help us get ready for the day and the weekend. it is thursday, january 27th. "today in the bay." good morning to you. it is 6:30 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. brent is off this morning, but meteorologist christina loren is working with a check on your forecast. brent picked a good day to take off. 74 degrees in gilroy. excuse me, today i'm going 75 degrees. high pressure is going to keep things nice and sunny. in the south bay we are a little warmer than what we are expecting in the north and east bay. we are seeing pretty dense fog developing. you want to take it easy on your drive. it is pushing in from the delta from the san joaquin valley as we have seen the past few days as offshore flow continues. now, tomorrow we'll see more of the onshore flow. that means temperaturewise we

are going to be cooler as we start you out tomorrow morning. 39 degrees right now in livermore. 46 degrees in san jose. turning over to the supper 60s and low 70s. we'll go into detail as to how much longer we'll be towards the 65/75-degree mark coming up. we'll get a check on the morning drive with mike inouye now. good morning. we'll take you to the bay bridge toll plaza where we are looking at the metering lights that were turned on in my last report. we have a slowdown happening in the fast track lanes. the cash lanes are not far behind. a live look at oakland. this is better news as traffic builds at the bay bridge. the traffic is clearing south of the coliseum. the southbound lanes are the taillights moving away from us. the earlier accident is clearing. a look at the travel times are moving. northbound and southbound 880 are looking at the same travel times 15 minutes for the southbound side. 17 for the northbound side. the east shore freeway down to the bay bridge toll plaza is

seeing a mild backup. we'll send it back to you guys. the commute is on. a refinery shut down is fueling fears that gas prices will rise in the bay area. marla tellez is live we the details. how much could we be paying now? >> reporter: the answer is not a good one. good morning to you. don't be surprised as gas prices reach $4 a gallon by memorial day. here in the bay area it is happening and could happen again. here's why. the valero refinery in venetia currently closed for maintenance will be closed longer than expected. initially it was to be shut down for five weeks. it has been extended to seven weeks now. so it should reopen about february 19th. the valero corporation says there's really no specific reason for the extension. nonetheless, this could drive up gas prices even more, especially considering the shell oil refinery in mart nasa is

expected to shut down some units before june. and another refinery in mar teenez is scheduled for another shut down. gasbuddy.com shows gas prices at $3.41 in san francisco. $3.38 in san jose. and $3.36 in oakland. of course, this is all for regular unleaded. now, since valero's refinery shut down at the first of the year, gas prices have gone up about 2% across the board here in the bay area. to find the cheapest gas prices in your area, gasbuddy.com is always a good resource. live at the golden gate bridge toll plaza, marla tellez, "today in the bay." thank you, marla. work is piling up on the desk of san jose mayor chuck reed this morning. he's business did trying to keep jobs in san jose. he's returning from a visit to sacramento to tell governor jerry brown if you eliminate redevelopment agencies you'll eliminate jobs.

oakland mayor jean quan and san francisco mayor ed lee also made the trip. governor brown and the state are looking at a $25 billion budget deficit. the governor feels one way to cut the deficit is to shut down redevelopment agencies to free up close to $2 billion. mayor reed is tells governor brown now is not the time to take away that money. >> we wanted to impress upon him the importance of the redevelopment funding to creating jobs at a time when california has such high unemployment rates. >> there could be a possible compromise. mayor chuck reed and fellow mayors will be busy working on alternative proposals, but they have to move quickly. the governor wants the budget in place by march. this morning an oakland police officer is off the street after killing a man wanted in a drive-by shooting. police chased two men in a car for at least ten minutes late wednesday afternoon. the chase ended at 85th avenue and south leandro streets. the suspects fired strot shots on mockwood and 78th avenue early wednesday.

the man shofs who was shot was armed with two weapons. officers arrested another man in the car. the officer involved in the shooting is on paid leave during the administration which is standard procedure. it is 6:34. a green light for livermore and a new speed limit. >> city leaders approved changes to posted speed limits on 26 roads. some will ride 5 miles an hour, a few others will drop. the changes were needed because of new state speed limit calculations not because of faster drivers. so make sure you pay attention to those signs. a bay area university is getting ready to open its doors to nursing students. starting next fall san jose state will offer a doctorate in the nursing practice. it will be a joint nursing program with fresno state. the move is actually timely. the u.s. bureau of health professionals projects california will have a shortfall of about 100,000 nurses in fen ten years. we are already last in the nation of nurses per capita.

those enrolled have to pay extra this fall as fees will be hiked by 10%. that means tuition is $10,500. wells fargo is making a whopping donation to east bay schools facing big budget deficits giving $500,000 to 33 alameda and contra costa county school districts. it is helping local schools and they are strength anything the communities. grants to alameda county school district will be presented at a special ceremony in hayward this afternoon. it is 6:36 right now. find out what a grocery store is saying after they covered up a picture of elton john and his new baby coming up. sony is showing off the new portable gaming device. we'll give you the rundown and tell you when it will probably be available. president obama is morning joining the charlie bit my kid scene. if you don't know about that video we'll tell you about it.

it is scott mcgrew's favorite. we definitely want to check it out. good morning to you. 15 degrees above average today. 10 degrees above average tomorrow. we'll let you know when finally things get back to normal across the bay area as we come right back.

we love mammoth. in a few moments we'll have an in-depth report as to how the snowboarding and skiing is shaping up there. and some impressive half-pipe videos. stay tuned for that. let's talk about what's happening everywhere across the state of california. dry and abnormally warm. about 15 degrees above average everywhere you head in california. that's going to be the case probably through saturday. 10 degrees above average tomorrow. then finally things get back to normal heading to the end of next week. maybe even a few showers late sunday courtesy of this cold front that's going to cross over the area. it looks like late sunday into monday morning. so a little bit of normalcy back in our weather forecast. 39 degrees in livermore. 46 degrees in hayward right now. 46 degrees in san jose. watch out for the patchy, dense

fog in the east bay and north bay this morning. as we head throughout probably 11:00 a.m., that fog will start to lift and break apart bringing us a lot of sunshine everywhere today. 69 in san jose and oakland. 69 degrees in almaden valley. this is what to expect the next few days. not a whole lot of change with a little bit cooler tomorrow down to 63 degrees. as promised, let's go to joni lynch now. good morning. we are expecting another fantastic day here at mammoth mountain. we have enjoyed a lot of sunshine today. eight to ten feet of snow that we have here at mammoth. we have all our lifts open at the summit. we have seven parks and three half-pipes spread throughout the mountain. it is training ground for many of the top athletes, many competing this weekend in the x games. you don't need to be a pro for

mammoth park. we have something for all levels here at mammoth park. back to you. >> thank you. that was some major air. good morning. 65 degrees on saturday. 63 degrees on sunday. a little bit cooler and less sunshine for us. a good weekend to go skiing if you like the ski. >> fabulous. head out. meanwhile, people on the east coast are digging out after a big snowstorm. a live report from washington coming up. plus, find out how much people are paying for a parking spot near the super bowl. and the magazine cover featuring two men and a baby is considered too controversial for some checkout aisles. rocket scientists!

you gave us the space age... but your savings accounts are stuck in the stone age! earn more commodore with interestplus savings at capitalone.com. that's new school banking, baby! [ laughs ] instead of earning zilch, your savings will be earning three times the national average. three times more? roger that! go online and sign up at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet?! where to sputnik? [ chuckles ]

a beautiful bay bridge. i also have a picture on my desk of the toll plaza as well. it is really starting to jam up. we will check in with mike in just a moment. it is 6:45. president obama will be interviewed this afternoon on youtube. the president will sit down with youtube's steve grouse. last year the president actually answered about a dozen of the more than 11,000 questions submitted by youtube users. it will air at 11:30 today. you can find a link on our website, nbcbayarea.com. tokyo unveiled their next big thing. >> it is called the next generation portable. here it is. it should be out later this year, in doubt, just in time for christmas. sony is trying to compete with nip den nintendo with3ds coming

out. dual control six, wi-fi, 3ds. it will allow people connect downloadable games as well as front and rear cameras. sony is done? not yet. there are rumors ill will unveil a new phone next month. verizon now carries the iphone and offering unlimited data plans. at&t is now allowing customer who is previously had the unlimited data plan but don't have it anymore to switch back. at&t has stopped offering unlimited data earlier this summer. this unfortunately doesn't apply to new iphone users. they are stuck with the limited plans. automakers pushing the limits of hybrid technology. vox cay volkswagen recently unveiled the xl-1. the most fuel-efficient hybrid automobile. it consumes 1/5 of a gallon of gas for every 60 miles of

driving. engineers used lightweight material. it has very littler a row dynamic drag as well. you probably won't be burning rubber. it has a two-cylinder engine. a grocery store chain in arkansas is catching flak for covering up a magazine cover featuring elton john and his partner and their new baby. the store said it got complaints from customers about the "us weekly" cover so it put a plastic cover usually placed over the covers of "playboy" in front of it. it says it was shielding young customers. a picture of this was posted on twitter. the corporation headquarters was flooded were calls and now the magazine is being displaced in all of the stores without the cover. august-like temperatures in the middle of january. it is either arm dead armageddon

or really great weather. >> gilroy, 74 degrees yesterday. san jose, 69. palo alto, 69. and oakland hit 68 degrees. really, really warm, especially looking at san francisco. they also hit 68 degrees yesterday. i'm forecasting 69 today, which is the average high in august. so we are seeing very, very warm temperatures this time of the year. we have abnormal ocean currents driving our weather system. now, high pressure is firmly in control of the pattern. what will change as we head throughout tomorrow is more of the onshore flow. we actually have a santa ana wind setup over the los angeles area. and what happens there is we have the wind wrapping around that big ridge of high pressure. down sloping winds warm up pushing from land to sea. that means we'll see a temperature of 85 degrees in anaheim. and 75 degrees for us in gilroy. really warm across the entire state right now. we are going to see the ridge break down heading through probably tomorrow night. more so for saturday. more of the onshore flow kicking

in. that means as of tomorrow we'll drop in temperature by 5 degrees on average. 69 degrees in oakland. 70 degrees in los gatos. 71 in santa cruz. you will want the keep something with you to warm up with this morning but take off later you should the sun. i saw a lot of people driving with windows rolled up yesterday. that means one thing. they are turning the ac on. there's a need for that after the fog turns off. we'll take you to the roadways to talk about another big issue. the bay bridge toll plaza. look at the crowd gathering here. if they need to huddle together for warmth they would be good, but they don't. the forecast is talking about warmer temperatures. clear skies across the bridge here. we'll also show the roadways where they are clearing up a little further to the south. here's the maps, 58 on 880 passing by on the southbound side. the live look shows you how much better that southbound traffic is flowing with taillights. an earlier accident clearing at davis street 20 minutes ago. now things are moving smoothly past the area in the south towards 238.

the northbound side is not picking up the congestion. zucchini that he with the headlights. 25 minutes out of the altamonte pass through central livermore and jamming up near this area. pretty standard patterns for us on thursday, but heavier volume than we typically see. folks are heading back to the area. if you are heading out of the area, you also have to note the fog through the central valley. notice the blip heading to the expressway, that's typical as the volume picks up near 680. then past the airport as well, 87 into downtown and highway 85 we have a slowing there as well. a typical pattern for the northbound commute. back to you. thank you very much. 6:50 right now. new this morning, a plan to save millions of dollars for the golden gate bridge could take a toll on dozens of jobs. "today in the bay's" mar lal tellez is live where this bridge could become the first in the state to do away with human toll takers. good morning, marla. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. technology could soon take over

the golden gate bridge toll plaza entirely because today the golden gate bridge highway and transportation district will meet to consider eliminating the bridge's 32 toll takers and replace them with fast track receivers and video cameras. now, this would save a little more than $2 million a year. about $22 million over ten years. here's how it would work. the cameras would record the license plate of every drive without a fast track transponder and then send a bill to the car's registered owner at the end of each month. currently, 66% of drivers in the bay area already use fast track. those who don't have it can link their credit card to their license plate. they can pay online at a bridge kiosk or call 511. the bridge spokesperson said it is an attractive plan since the bridge is facing an $89 million deficit largely because government funding for the bridge district has been eliminated in recent years. now, if approved the system

would be installed late this year to be tested before going live in december of 2012. as for the 32 bridge toll takers, a spokesperson says if they are not eligible for retirement they do have the option of being retrained for another job within the bridge's district. live in san francisco this morning, marla tellez, "today in the bay." record snow crushed the eastern seaboard overnight. a check of our network friends twittering shows how bad it got. chief white house correspondent chuck todd said it took four hours to get home from the white house. that is just 4 1/2 miles. david gregory just a couple seconds ago twittered i ditched my car at the studio. traffic was not moving. so there you go. tracie potts is live in washington in the bureau. and the operative word here is in the bureau, inside. >> reporter: let me tell you why i'm inside. because some of my coworkers got stuck. we were going to set up to show you the snow outside, but we needed the extra crew.

they got stuck either at home and had to turn around or couldn't get here from where they were. i ended up coming in overnight just to make sure i would be here for you this morning. but the snow came down really, really fast. it was about six to nine inches depending on where you were. like chuck said, a lot of people abandoned their cars. that's really the problem this morning. if you are out, the roads are greating getting clear, but driving around the abandoned cars is a mess. the airports timely cleared one runway, but there's obviously a major backup going on there. the president as you may have heard got caught in traffic in his motorcade. it took him twice as long to get home. so you know when he has a bad commute you are going to have a really bad one. >> he's from chicago, he's used to it. new york city is a mess as well. >> reporter: yeah, new york is bad. >> we checked some flights at sfo that were getting canceled as well. the federal government says

social security will be drained by 2037. a new congressional projection shows social security running deficits we have every year until it runs out that year. in 2011 it will be $45 billion less in payroll than it pays out. well, congressman dennis kucinich from ohio is suing the congressional cafeteria. he says a sandwich wrap caused dental damage. the suit calls for $150,000 in damages. it says the wrap that kucinich bought in april of 2008, quote, contained dangerous substances, namely an olive pit. it looks like drug smugglers are turning medieval to get their product into the u.s. you are looking at recent surveillance video shot by, yes, it is exactly what you thinks it is going to be, shot by customs and border protection. you can see them loading the drugs. there they go, a catapult towed by an suv just like the ones used during medieval times. they fired a number of packages

before the u.s. border agents were able to call in mexican officials to the scene. the suspects fled leaving behind the catapult and 45 pound of marijuana. meanwhile, nasa is celebrating the hubell telescope's latest sighting. it spotted a galaxy more than 13 billion light years away. it is 100 times smaller than our own milky way forming 480 million years after the 13.7 billion-year-old universe was formed making it the oldest galaxy ever found. 6:55 right now. speaking of a find, if you are in san francisco this morning, you will not want to miss the second annual celebrity crab cracking competition. the contest pairs some of the top chefs with local celebrities. the twosome that cracks the most crabs wins a $1,000 prize that goes to the winning celebrity's charity of choice. david chao will participate as well as tv host judge judy. the event kicks off at 10:30 at

grat got to restaurant in fisherman's wharf. a young man will be on "ellen" today. don't tell him he has a lisp. [ inaudible ] >> sold to the man in the emerson college sweatshirt. george watzky was featured in russell simmons poem series. you can watch him today at 4:00 on nbc bay area. everything is bigger in texas. and alrntly apparently that includes a parking spot. a parking meter is hitting the upwards of $00.

$900. 90% of the parking spaces at the super bowl will be reserved in advance. you might want to walk to the game. this year's super bowl should be a big hit with the ladies. according to nfl jersey sales it will feature two of their favorite players. the best selling jersey is troy polamalu. the usc alum famous for the long, curly locks sticking through the helmet. the fourth best selling jersey is aaron rodgers. both beat out tom brady who is married to a super model. check your flights if you are flying today. have a great day. >> a local news update in a half hour. ring ring ring ring.

hey, your chicken noodles ringing. ring ring. progresso. hi, may i speak to my oggy please? thank you. i'm sorry, who? my grandma. this is obviously her chicken noodle soup. only hers tastes like this. just put my oggy on the phone. thanks so much. hold one moment please. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay well i'll hold. she's holding. wha? she's holding. tell her its karen. (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup.