>> reporter: good morning. i'm christie smith live in the east bay. bundle up. it's going to be a cold one. not just today but the next couple of days. we'll be talking about that coming up in a live report. >> big changes in store for students at two east bay schools. we'll have the final decision on school closures in one school district. plus, flames pour out of a car on a busy interstate. the dramatic story, what happened and how strangers jumped in to help. a live look outside this morning, christie mentioned cold, bundle up. it's wednesday, february 23rd,

"today in the east bay." good morning. i'm scott mcgrew. it's 4:30. let me have a drink of coffee while we check in with christina loren. >> good morning. i'm drinking the cool aid. it's cold out there. 39 in concord, 37 degrees in fairfield. and 37 degrees in livermore. as we head throughout the afternoon we are going to warm up to about 55, 56 degrees. the difference between yesterday and today will be the fact that we're going to see more cloud cover so another nice day, not quite as sunny. our big story, the approaching low snow levels as we head into this weekend. we'll talk about that, what it means for the east bay coming up. let's check your east bay commute with mike inouye. >> good morning, christina. as you might expect it's light volume of traffic. it's after 4:30 in the morning

but coming onto a wednesday commute. we should see a slowdown through the maze. speeds close to the limit, this wide shot here. the bottom, construction. we have that construction going on. that's the oak street on ramp around fifth getting onto south bound 880, that will go on till about 5:00, so another half hour. no major issues. the posey tube is reopening. getting over from alameda. >> thank you much. christina mentioned the cold. let's check in with somebody who really, really knows how cold it is, and that is christy. >> good morning to you. normally we see people walking around and that tells you how cold it is because we're not seeing many people at all walking around. the few people we have seen are wearing coats and hats and that sort of stuff. it's only going to get colder. windows this morning look a little frosty here in concord at this car dealership. they are wet, though, this

morning. overnight in some spots as christina mentioned we're talking high 30s and low 40s, like hayward, fairfield, concord, livermore. over the weekend in the san mateo mountains we were talking snow, and we could see that low snow may be coming back in the coming days. again, we're going from cold to colder to coldest into the weekend. and even some rain possibly as well. some of the coldest air of this season. now, we are going to be talking with people on the way to work this morning, and see what they think of these cold temperatures. we'll check back in with you in about an hour. we're going to warm up in the van as well. that's the latest. live in concord, christie smith, "today in the east bay." >> thank you. after weeks we finally know the name of every school that will be shut down in the mt. diablo district. the school board there gave the final word and two schools not three as original will i planned will be closed next fall. they are glenbrook middle school

and holbrook elementary. we have known this for some time. what we didn't know is those would be the only schools that close. nonetheless, unions and community groups are concerned what the closures could mean. >> we are concerned that they are going to continue to close schools, we're concerned about where these children are going to be displaced, whether it will be a hardship for them to get to school every day. and of course we're concerned about the impact it will have on our members and whether it will require layoffs or additional hardships on our people. >> that woman there a union representative. the school closures will likely save the district more than a million dollars a year. teachers are still demanding a new and more expensive contract. while district leaders contend the unions are unwilling to make concessions. a candlelight vigil planned for two teen who is drowned.

friends posted on youtube. the memorial growing for both matthew miller and gavin powell, they were juniors, they died trying to navigate a rain swollen canal in a raft. they were best friends and on the way to meet another friend. they never made it. their bodies were about a mile apart in concord. this week grief counselors are on campus to help the students. >> tonight's candlelight vigil at the shell ridge open space in walnut creek from 6:00 to 8:00. >> we are learning new information about the death of a high school football player last month that may have been in revenge for a beating in his neighborhood. court testimony in the killing of gene grisby suggests that he was randomly targeted. two were ordered to stand trial.

tyrus franklin is the shooting suspect. he is charged as an adult. grisby was shot outside of his family home on january 10th. >> police have made a string -- an arrest in a string of robberies in an oakland safeway store. police arrested a 19-year-old man after watching video. it's unclear the there are other suspects at large. five women were robbed after driving home from the safeway off highway 13. police think they were all followed home from the grocery store. fortunately, nobody hurt but they did lose purses, cell phone, moneys. police say the investigation is ongoing. >> the largest water district may have $75,000 in fines for two spills that regulators say follow a pattern of carelessness. they are frustrated with the district's inability to manage

spills from its water lines especially in creeks where they can cause damage, introducing chemicals into the waterways. regulators are set to make a decision on the proposed fine in may. >> alameda county supervisors busy with a new project, several of them despite the fact that the governor wants to shut down most redevelopment efforts to save money. in january govern brown proposed eliminating redevelopment agencies in order to balance the state budget. yesterday the alameda county board unanimously approved moving forward on 16 county redevelopment projects, an effort to put contracts in place before the governor follows through with his proposal. >> all right. let's check win christina. we're talking about how cold it is g. morning to you. >> good morning to you, scott. good morning to you at home. it is chilly out there. we are in the 30s this morning, 35 degrees in napa, 35 in santa rosa. we do have the upper 30s if you're waking up in the east

bay, 39 in concord, not too bad, a little warmer than where we were this time yesterday. we have some clouds moving in. clouds are actually going to keep us a little more mild this afternoon, not as warm but temperatures will still end up in the mid-50s. our big weather story this weekend, the possibility of some very low snow levels dropping into the bay area. i'm calling for a 500-foot snow level as of saturday morning. we'll let you know what that means for the east bay, livermore, you're looking pretty good for snow showers as well as san ramon. we'll go into detail who has the best bet for seeing the snow this weekend coming up. let's detail your traffic drive now with mike inouye. good morning, mike. >> good morning. we'll detail who has the best chance of seeing slowing. this is antioch highway 4, yesterday we saw a good amount of slowing down to the 20s, likely to see that today. starting in the 30s right about 5:30. folks come across the bridge out of the north bay.

to or from the north bay here the bridges are moving smoothly southbound for the benicia, 680 and westbound for 80 the commute directions, north of there talking about the very cold temperatures and watch for black ice, we're watching the cold air and maybe the smaller bridges might be affected. the bigger bridges no big deal. approaching the biggest traffic, this is the bay bridge, smooth through the maze a. live look at oakland, past the coliseum with the taillights, there you go, very smooth drive, 15 minutes off 238. fast coliseum. the warriors played. tonight and the next night since will be there. back to you. >> thank you. we talked about school closures but budget cuts are forcing even tougher decisions at bay area schools. certain students being singled out. plus, taxic infertility. could the chemicals in cleaning materials affect a woman's health. amazing video, a car on a busy

interstate, strangers jump in to rescue the driver. you are looking at live pictures of the bay bridge. it is a chilly, chilly one. we'll be right back.

>> well, here is some video of a burning car. this is out of texas, dozens of people coming to the rescue. the man's car burst into flames on an interstate after it was hit in a three-car crash. the driver trapped by the concrete divider was wedged up against his door. several people picked the the car up and moved it. the man was still trapped inside because he couldn't get his seat belt off. at the last minute someone handed him a knife and he was able to cut the belt and get out. >> the delta sanitation demonstrative exhibit looking at building a 327-foot high wind turbine to power a water project in pittsburg in antioch on the water front property on the pittsburg antioch border. it would be visible through two cities, some leaders are

concerned about the high visibility. i think you're seeing altamont pass there. i don't know that we have the pictures. the turbin's high visibility. there are concerns for birds. >> home improvement projects a distinguish indicator, retailers such as lowes and home depot reporting strong fourth quarter numbers. analysts suggest that the housing market is starting to show signs of life. people starting to spend more on improvement projects. there is more housing news expected today. nicole is live at cnbc world headquarters. good morning. >> a very good morning to you, scott. wall street is looking to bounce back from yesterday's losses. futures are higher, stocks slumped as oil spiked on the unrest in libya as oil production was also cut. light crude is above $96 a barrel. the latest on the housing sector with existing home sales. making headlines, your

retirement nest egg grew quite a bit in the past few months. fidelity investment says 401(k) balances hit records thanks to gains in the stock market. the average balance for fidelity accounts was just over $71,000 at the end of 2010, up from $64,000. another positive note, smaller companies were also starting to catch up with restoring employee matches on 401(k)s so. that was good news. not so great news this morning, airfares are going up again for the third time this month. american hiked prices 20 to 60 bucks for premium and last-minute fares often bought by business travelers. that was matched by united, continent continental, delta and u.s. air ways. airlines have been boosting fares to offset higher fuel prices. that's the latest from cnbc. back to you.

>> thank you much. let's turn to christina and a very cold forecast. >> good morning, mr. mcgrew. good morning to you in the east bay. we got some clouds so it's not as cold this morning as we were at this time yesterday morning. but it's still cold. we're in the 30s and as we head throughout this afternoon, temperatures are going to be pretty mild, not as warm as yesterday because of the cloud cover and the showers arrive tomorrow, it looks like we could see snow levels at 2,000 feet tomorrow night, dropping possibly to 1,000 feet friday night, then down to 500 feet saturday morning. so, low snow levels unprecedented. since i would say the 70s. we haven't seen snow levels fall down this low, possibly some snow in san francisco in the last time that happened was '76. we'll talk more about that, what it means for the east bay. lisa ludwigs livermore, you'll see snow and places in the foothills same for you. why, coming up, back to you. >> all right. and i think somewhere there is a

microphone that has gotten loose on you. take a look at that. the warriors appear to be able to hold their own against most of the nba but when it comes to the elite teams they come up short. golden state unable to hold off the boston celtics. final 115-93. up next, atlanta on friday. talking trades, the warriors are scouting the market trying to move before free agents become available, possible acquisitions, could include troy murphy out of new jersey. it's a classroom catch 22. california schools struggling financially, more veteran teachers who make more are encouraged to retire. in order to pay for their pensions the school districts have to tap classroom funds. as garvin thomas reports many schools are balancing the budget on the back of its brightest students. >> raise your hand if you can tell me what you think happened so far or what's going on in egypt. >> 10-year-old tila looks like a

fifth-grader but academically she reads at a 12th grade level. >> there is no single figure leading the protest. >> and finishes assignments twice as fast as her peers. >> i tend to overanswer stuff so people like one sentence, i have like three for every question. >> she is one of 500,000 kids in california that have been deemed gifted and participate in a program called gate. >> it brought diversity in my life you could say because i learned about stuff that i think i would need later in life. >> it helps to keep high achieving kids motivated. without it she might get bored. >> the engagement of a big project with other children that are kind of at her level. that's the thing that you can't do as well in a regular classroom. >> unless kids are challenged they won't improve. >> jennifer with the bay citizens says funding for gifted programs is being used to balance budgets instead. >> so in 2009, the state

legislature responded to these huge budget shortfalls by telling districts they could spend so called funding in any way they wanted to. >> a legislative analyst report found that 73% of districts have taken away gate funds in order to pay for other costs like pensions and salaries. last year oakland unified cut funding to the gate program by 25%. san jose unified stopped reimbursing schools for gifted student expenses, and evergreen school district where tila goes eliminated the gifted program. >> there were a lot of programs that we have had to kind of put the brakes on and say we need to hold on these for a bit. use these funds, you know, meet our obligations, then see if they can come back at a later time. >> for now, the program is gone. >> it was challenging but it was fun and actually interesting. >> and, it was once the best part of her day. garvin thomas, "today in the

east bay." >> to read the full report by our partners at the bay citizen including how some bay area schools are able to keep their gifted programs go to bay citizen.org. to combat more cuts a mom has launched an e-mail letter campaign to put lawmakers on notice urging them to allow a special election in june. hear what she has to say and what you can do this sunday when she joins jessica in our weekly education show. 9:30 sunday morning. also congressman mike honda as well, sunday morning right here on nbc bay area. >> let's take a look at what's coming up later today in the bay. laura garcia-cannon joins us. good morning. >> good morning, scott. thieves are targeting things you leave in your car in a neighborhood. we'll show you what they are looking for in particular. also should police officers be armed with tasers? it is a hotly debated issue in one community. and did lindsay lohan steal a

$2500 necklace or just borrow it? or is she just misunderstood? all that and more coming up in a few minutes. >> laura, you forgot the most important -- tell everybody. >> that this is truly my necklace? >> no. that you bought a mini van. >> i'm a mom of triplets. we'll have more on that coming up. no, we won't. >> speaking of parenthood, chemicals found in household items could pose a problem for couples hoping to have a baby. >> thank you. >> reporter: molly works hard to make sure her toddler has a safe and healthy home. >> this is a bowl of organic fruit, so no pesticides on this. we tried to replace a lot of our cleaning products, what i thought were green companies. >> reporter: this seattle mother and her husband zach first learned of environmental health risks when there was a problem getting pregnant.

>> five years ago we had our struggles with infertility and repeated miscarriages. it's just alarming what the average consumer has to hold in their head to figure out what is safe and not safe. >> while pregnant she took part in a study that tested for mercury and several widely used chemicals. >> my levels were liar than all of the women tested. >> reproductive health experts are examining the impact of chemicals in everything from cans to cosmetics. and cleaning products. >> pregnant women are exposed now to many different types of chemicals and can those things be increasing the rates of difficulty in getting pregnant, adverse birth outcomes. >> avoiding potentially harmful chemicals is not a problem consumers can shop their way out of. experts say it will also take government policy changes and safer substitutes from manufacturers.

a process just now gaining momentum. >> a new study shows mammograms may not be enough to spot breast cancer in women who have successfully battled that disease before. researchers say mammograms are more accurate for women who have never had breast cancer. breast cancer survivors have a high risk of getting a second case of the disease, but a second case can therefore be harder to detect. researchers say more specific or additional screening processes may be needed for women with a history of breast cancer. >> drugs that are supposed to prevent osteoporosis related fractures may actually cause a different kind of bone break a canadian study of more than 200 women -- 200,000 women, rather, treated with bifosfonate, found taking the drugs more than five years made you more likely to have an atypical fracture that are not linked to the bone

density disease. women taking the medication long term were also significantly less likely to suffer a related bone break. >> let's check in with mike. it's early in the morning but there's got to be something. >> good morning. you know the build-up starts in the far reaches mostly because of the folks that need a longer drive. the alta mont drive, 205, 580 merging. still 13 minutes. pleasant drive. cold chilly air but wind not as much of a factor. through the dublin interchange, we're looking at the bay bridge. yesterday a couple of accidents around golden gate and that tied things up. this morning we're okay there as well as the rest of the maze. that's a pleasant start. bottom of the screen, construction t on ramp is closed tor 15 minutes as they move that crew. we'll get you a live look at oakland. 880 smooth, light valley

northbound with the headlights. southbound down to 92 and the san mateo bridge. the construction zone, 92 off 880 might have construction for a half hour. tenn tennisson is a way to stay clear. and the san mateo bridge, the toll plaza is smooth. over to the peninsula over to 101, a smooth drive. no camera shakes so wind at a minimum. some flashing lights in the westbound direction. back to you. >> thank you much. his life is the subject of an academy award-nominated movie. now the hiker who cut off his own arm after being trapped by a boulder is making a small screen debut on minute to win it. he plays a round of ping tic-tac-toe on the game show. this is what it sounds like, tic-tac-toe with ping pong balls. will he win? you can tune in tonight, 8:00

here on nbc bay area. james franco nominated for an oscar playing in the movie "127 hours," also hosting the oscars. coming up the east bay county looking to renew sales tax that expires. why it wants to take action now and who stands to benefit. that's why lysol has started a mission for health. with new mom programs, lysol healthy habits initiatives in schools and disaster relief efforts. when you use lysol at home, you'll know you're a part of something bigger. for healthy tips and more, visit lysol.com/missionforhealth.

>> reporter: new this morning, hide your lap top and your gps. thieves are having a field day on the peninsula. good morning. i'm marla tellez. what you need to know about the latest string of burglaries. >> the trial against the bay area teen accused of trying to blow up his school moves forward. >> and who will eventually replace steve jobs? some shareholders with apple certainly want to know. i'm bob redell with the possible showdown in cupertino. that coming up. >> a live look outside, beautiful bay bridge this morning, freezing temperatures in parts of the bay. it is wednesday, february 23, this is "today in the bay." good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'mnt