good morning. i'm kris sanchez. coming up on "today in the bay," a deadly chain reaction shuts down a major east bay thoroughfare. and look at this mess in san francisco. what happened and whether you should steer clear of that area. plus, a bay area police officer busted in an alleged drug scandal. why investigators say this arrest could be the first of many more. and the irony of an unexpected tax refund for thousands of same-sex couples. an unexpected tax benefit courtesy of the defense of marriage act. this is "today in the bay."

hey, we are talking wet conditions all around the bay area here. we're looking at oracle arena. you can see the low clouds. let me tell you, no word for volumizing spray this morning. thanks for joining us on this rainy, frizzy start to sunday. >> you look just fine. we've been watching hair volumes this morning due to the conditions. >> chia pet. >> it looks great. over our shoulder -- >> that's why. >> the golden gate bridge and ponding on the road this morning so folks need to slow down on the roads this morning. let's show you the radar view. we have moderate areas of rain from san francisco to oakland. you can see the areas of yellow. look at dublin towards the san ramon hills, pleasanton, san jose, kind of a break right now and more showers across the excuse mountains and the north bay. this moisture off the pacific ocean giving us a case of oh, the humidity this morning.

temperatures in the 50s won't budge today. upper 50s, near 60. what we should see are showers shutting down, breezy for tonight. we'll show you what you can expect for the workweek ahead in a few minutes. >> the haircast. >> this morning that's very true. >> thanks, rob. new this morning, a geyser of water pouring onto the streets of san francisco after a driver plowed his car into a fire hydrant. this happened just a few minutes before 1:00 this morning on first street near the transbay terminal. check out all the water on the roadway. rob was talking about ponding. this is even or with. witnesses say the hydrant spouted water for more than an hour. the driver of the car was questioned by police at the scene. it was unclear whether alcohol or drugs played a factor in this crash. one person is dead and one other has serious injuries after several cars crash on the major east bay road way. the chp says five or six cars crashed on north vasco road

around camino diablo near midnight. witnesses say it was raining and the roadways were wet. the northbound lanes of vasco road were closed but the lanes are open again. this morning another arrest in a growing investigation linking east bay police officers to a drug ring, and investigators say expect more arrests and police departments throughout the bay area. 47-year-old danville police officer steven tanabe faces drug and weapons charges. investigators say he was involved in a drug ring with two other men, a former narcotics officer, norman welsh and private investigator christopher butler. the three men have known each other since the '80s when they were all rookies on the antioch police department. now, they are accused of selling confiscated drugs and filing false dui reports, and there are other charges as well. sources tell the chronicle as many as four other bay area police departments are also investigating. this morning new speculation that the northern california couple accused of kidnapping

jaycee dugard may never go to trial. nancy and philip garrido recently gave full confessions to detectives in this case. lawyers tell the associated press that the couple may have confessed in order to strike a deal with prosecutors. the garridos are accused of kidnapping dugard when she was just 11 years old, then holding her hostage for 18 years in the backyard of their antioch home. the garridos are also charged with rape, lewd conduct with a minor, and child pornography. at the cal palace this weekend, no pumping music, no dancing, instead of the sounds of pg&e workers shuffling through hundreds of thousands of documents. about 300 pg&e employees are poring through paperwork looking for pipeline documentation ordered by the public utilities commission. pg&e has until the 15th of march to provide specifics on gas transmission pipelines all over northern and central california. this is in response, of course, to the deadly explosion and fire in san bruno in september. if pg&e cannot comply, the state

will ask the utility to cut gas pressure in its pipelines by 20%. april's tax deadline is about six weeks away, and this year there is a confusing change in the tax code which affects tens of thousands of same-sex couples in california. it is causing big headaches for some and giving other couples a big unexpected refund. but there is an irony here. "today in the bay' "today in the bay's" monte francis reports the defense of marriage act which cups are fighting against is providing that unintended tax benefit. >> reporter: stuart gaffney and john lewis have been a loving couple for 24 years, registered as domestic partners and legally married in 2008. they say this is the first year they feel they're being treated equally when it comes to their taxes. but filing their return doesn't come without headaches. >> we have to file a mock federal return because our state return is based on our federal return, and it's just more and more complications.

>> reporter: those complications brought dozens of same-sex couples to this seminar in san francisco where tax experts explained starting this year the state's 50,000 or so couples registered as domestic partners could be in for unexpected refunds. >> just in my practice i've already -- i have thousands of -- hundreds of thousands of dollars are in taxpayers' checking accounts today. >> reporter: the change in 2010 affects domestic partners in three states -- california, nevada, and washington. those are the states that recognize domestic partnerships and also have community property laws. for 2010, domestic partners should file joint state returns, but because of the defense of marriage act they still have to file separate federal returns. and now they can include their combined income as shared property on those federal returns and avoid the so-called marriage penalty that some married heterosexual couples are required to pay. >> we would gladly pay the marriage penalty. we're actually not allowed to because the federal government

still does not recognize our marriage. >> reporter: what makes this so confusing is not all domestic partners will benefit. it depends on their income. and hiring a tax specialist to sort it all out can be expensive. even so, gaffney and louis say it's a step in the right direction. >> for 23 of those years we have ended up paying thousands of dollars more every year in our taxes. finally, this year, for the first time we're going to be treated equally. >> that was monte francis reporting. taxes vary from couple to couple to talk with a tax professional. still ahead on "today in the bay," charlie sheen more and more like brian wilson of the giants every day? how the giants' closer is influencing one hollywood bad boy. your energy comes, you want to do it, you can't wait for the race. >> these girls are running with a fast crowd, and their parents couldn't be happier.

the program that is getting girls to lace up their sneakers and stay on track.

good morning to you. a live look from our san jose camera, lots of misty clouds in the distance. we'll get our forecast from rob and see how long this frizzy weather is going to stick around. tomorrow dog owners in san francisco will protest a proposal to shrink some very popular off-leash dog areas. this weekend they got a look at the proposals that would reduce the size of off-leash areas at 21 different spots in golden gate national recreation area. that is intended to preserve wildlife and native plants. but dog areas, such as ocean beach and fort funston may soon require dogs to be on leashes all the time. protesters will gather tomorrow evening at 5:30 at ft. mason center. gym class is a source of

stress for a lot of kids and maybe some bad memories for some grown-ups. but there is a program that is not only getting girls running, it is getting them feeling better about themselves. >> hi, girls. >> reporter: 45 montclair elementary schoolgirls are staying after school to run, voluntarily. >> it gets your energy pumped, you want to do it, you can't wait for the race. the race the amazing. >> reporter: that race is a 5k in may that is the culmination of ten weeks of training for girls on the run, silicon valley. >> it's really a character development program so it's a lot more than just running. >> reporter: this is one of the bigger programs with 45 girls, but for all the santa clara and santa cruz counties a thousand girls will run for girls on the run and nationwide almost 100,000 girls participate. but running can be intimidating, and these girls are only in third through fifth grade. >> i was scared of, like, running slow because i can't run that fast.

and how other people think of me. >> yay! >> reporter: but what she found out is that her fellow runners weren't just ready to run for themselves but for her, too. >> i was the last person to get in and they all motivated me and ran in with me. >> i think the way they stick together and help each other through it, i love that part. >> reporter: the girls run, play games, make friends, and learn healthy habits on and off the track. >> i used to think of running -- i thought running was something boys did. but i play soccer and i figured out in the last year that girls on the run helped my endurance for soccer. >> cammi, nice. three laps. good job. >> reporter: on this first day of training the girls run a few laps but by may they'll run the equivalent of 12, building endurance and character at the same time. >> whooo! >> the girls on the run silicon valley 5k in may is open to anybody who wants to run with

them. if you want to sign up to run, if you want to sign up to volunteer to coach or get your own girls involved, you can find everything you need at gotrsfb.org. we'll put it up on the screen for you later. there you go. girls on the run, silicon valley. jurors on the barry bonds trial are being asked to stay away from social networking. the court is asking potential jurors not to use facebook, twitter or even google and wants them to stay away from outside sources that could sway their view of this case. bonds is accused of lying to a federal grand jury investigating steroid distribution. the trial starts in just a few weeks. it is expected to last just about a month. we tried to go a whole weekend without any charlie sheen story, but we just couldn't skip this one. troubled star charlie sheen wants you in his corner, and that is what he's telling fans of his new talk show on youstream. sheen's corner kicked off this

weekend on the popular video streaming site. during the nearly hour-long webcast, the four-time emmy nominee answered questions from fans, fired back at his critics and expressed his devotion to a certain world series champion. >> brian wilson. don't even speak. let me just say his name again. everyone just bow your head for a second. brian "fear the beard" wilson. the man delivers fury, genervene and world domination like a cup of coffee. he's just better than you. >> brian wilson does have his own youstream show as well. maybe that's where charlie sheen got his idea. sheen was recently fired from the set of the sitcom "two and a half men." much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, a grammy winner says good-bye to the music industry

for good. medical conditions that forced him to quit. and rob mayeda here with live pictures out near the embark dcarde embarcardero. we track rain to start the day, then some wind later on. a look at your sunday forecast when we come back. [ wheezing breaths ] [ woman ] the first time i smoked, i was 13. i was in a hurry to grow up and wanted to look cool. big tobacco knew it, and they preyed on me.

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♪ the wake-up call for the shuttle "discovery" crew this morning. no hitting the snooze for the crew enjoying their final hours in outer space before sealing the hatch that connects them to the international space station. they begin the journey home on wednesday. this is the final voyage for the shuttle "discovery." now rob mayeda has a look at a forecast that's making us a

little poof fi this morning. >> high humidity this morning, chris. we're waking up to 55 degrees, some light rain in and around san jose, southeast wind at 5 miles per hour, cloudy skies in san jose. look at the humidity cranked up in oakland right now with some rain flying, 54 degrees, and san francisco, downtown's behind me, you just can't see it. the creeling to the clouds down to 300 feet, so we've got some arriving flight delays into sfo airport, about a half hour this morning. so call ahead if you're expecting some family and friends heading into sfo. also, lucky drive in san francisco, northbound 101 seeing some spotty flooding due to the moderate rain overnight. for the most part, the rainfall so far generally about a half inch or less, north bay locations like santa rosa to napa picking up good rain. elsewhere we're looking at a quarter inch or less as we get into the south bay. you can see we still have rain flying around the north bay, especially towards napa. you can see the rain moderate to heavy at times. san francisco to oakland, a pocket of heavier rain crossing the coast from pacifica heading

into south san francisco into the east bay, around livermore and the altamont pass, some pretty good rain showers there. san jose, lighter pockets of rain, into the highway 17 summit, rain again. this system way too warm to talk about anything like low snow levels around the bay area. the satellite view shows you this stream of moisture heading into california with tropical origins. that's the reason why it is so muggy outside. the rainy start to the day, then eventually the rain changes to scattered showers as we head towards the evening. then the winds pick up as we head into monday. that should also help shut down the showers. as we get back to the workweek, highs staying, kind of cool monday before rebounding towards wednesday of this upcoming week. by the evening, the rain turns to scattered showers. the clearing tonight thanks to the breezy conditions. monday looks dry. then one more chance for seeing showers. i think this is going to show up late monday night into tuesday morning, a little bit of light rain. after that, we'll clear out for tuesday afternoon, then for wednesday morning maybe some patchy fog as our skies clear and we warm up for the middle part of the week.

around the bay area today, not as warm as yesterday. we had some upper 60s, near 70 in a few spots. today with the clouds lingering and the moisture sticking around, we'll probably have highs mostly in the upper 50s with high temperatures across the north bay, mid to upper 50s, snow level, by the way, pretty close to 6,000 feet if you're heading out to the sierra. that should drop tonight closer to 5,000 feet into monday morning. the seven-day forecast, the most soggy part of it is happening right now. we'll get some breezy conditions tonight, drier for monday. wednesday, maybe making a run at 70 degrees with less humidity. good news for everybody. >> i don't mean to be a baby about it but, you know, frizzy stinks. >> you notice it this morning. it's uncomfortable, sticky outside, and yes, you might have to use some extra hair products. i don't know if you are a bill collins fan, but he's retiring. >> i am. >> maybe it was something in the air. phil collins is quitting the music business. grammy and oscar winner has his

reasons. collins reportedly tells fhn that decades of rock 'n' roll have worn down his body. he has a dislocated vertebra, hearing loss and says he has nerve damage in his hands that makes it hard for him to hold drumsticks. that's too bad. maybe he could take a break and then come back. coming up on "today in the bay," an 8-year-old athlete shows us what it means to be little and still a winner. good morning. i'm justin allen. the sharks looking for a ninth straight win, and cameron wrapping up the regular season

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league. "today in the bay's" mike inouye threw out the first pitch to start the spring 2011 season on the right foot. nice pitch. someone asked me the other day if mike is as nice as he seems on tv. the answer is yes. even nicer, actually. the a's and giant do get out at spring training and the stars align against the sharks. justin allen has it all in your morning sports. a possible playoff preview as the sharks strive for a ninth straight win against a dallas team looking to sneak into the eighth spot in the west. things looking good for them, too. check it out as dany heatley and patrick marleau, two-on-one. marlo patrick gets the goal. 2-1. but things fall apart in the third as the stars score two quick goals including this one by jason williams and that was it. a ninth straight win denied as dallas takes this one 3-2. now conference tourney time in college hoops. three bay area teams are going for the title of the west coast

conference tournament. santa clara facing lmu. the broncos were in control of this one all the way. lay-in late in fourth. santa clara wins it 76-68. they'll face top seed st. mary's in the semis on sunday. usf facing pepperdine. playing some ball. on the break, micheal williams, the no-look behind-the-back pass to rashad green. nice, fellas. green put up 23 as usf advances. they'll play gonzaga sunday night. 76-59 the final. the pavilion rocking, cal and stanford wrapping up the regular season. the bears were flowing. jorge gutierrez with the sweet pass to richard solomon, who puts it down. later, gutierrez with another fine dish. this time to alan crab, who finishes it up with a lay-in. he had 24. bears win it 74-55. so cal plays usc and stanford

versus asu in the pac-10 tourney. a's beat the giants 6-0. brett anderson, three scoreless innings, gave up one hit. coco crisp had a two-rbi single and is hitting .417 this spring. the giant were flat. b bumgartner gave up one run. they are 7-3. have a great day. we found our next sports story on the web. it's not so much the sport that caught our attention. it's the athlete. the wrestler with the mohawk is steve pollin, just 8 years old. but as you can see in the youtube video, through sheer determination he takes down opponents easily, even the ones bigger than him. he competes in new york, but his performance is a good reminder to all of us that you don't have to be the biggest to be the best. love that little mohawk.

he has 256 wins and only 26 losses. this video of him has gotten 1.6 million clicks and counting. pretty cool. much more ahead on "today in the bay." still ahead, rage and revolution in libya. rebel forces refuse to back down. and unrest in the middle east means pain at the pump. what it will cost you to fill up your tank today. and airline executives convicted in a massive price-fixing scheme. [ male announcer ] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that is helping business rethink how to do business. ♪ in here, inventory can be taught to learn... so products get routed to where they're needed most. ♪

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camera looking up at the transamerica building. barely can see the top of that one because the rain is falling. thanks for joining us on this saturday -- sunday morning. i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist rob mayeda. is this going to stick around till tomorrow? >> tomorrow morning. we'll lose the humidity, lose some of the rain, which is good news, but this morning is coming out pretty good, enough that it's causing ponding on the roadways and around san francisco. you saw how low the clouds are hanging over the city. some flight delays into sfo airport due to reduced visibility. rain in the north bay around the marin head lands and a pretty good cell moving east of downtown san francisco. heavier rain around danville to san ramon, san jose seeing lighter rain, and you'll continue to see showers following you up to the highway 17 summit where you'll find some fog there along with the rain coming down. kind of a mild start to the morning. we're waking up to mid-50s and we'll probably finish the day in those mid-50s to near 60. rain starting to shut down after sundown tonight. then we'll be turning a bit breezy at times.

we'll talk more about the changes as we head back to the workweek and maybe some 70s showing up in your seven-day forecast. we'll have that in a few minutes. >> thank you very much. uncertainty in libya and across the middle east pushing gas prices up again across the country. california leads the pack with the most expensive average gas prices in the country. usually california trails alaska and hawaii but not this time. apparently california uses a significant amount of imported oil, which is partly to blame for the jump in prices. the national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.38. of course in the bay area we are used to the higher averages. in oakland a gallon will cost you $3.88 compared to $3.41 just a month ago. san jose, $3.89. san francisco $3.92, which is up 45 cents from a month ago. in libya this morning air strikes from warplanes and ground battles with rebel forces

near the capital of tripoli. journalists report heavy machine gun fire on the ground as rebel forces move toward the capital city. but who's gaining ground dpenlds on who you ask. state tv says gadhafi forces are making significant gains but rumors prompted many to line the street in celebration this morning. cnbc's sue herera has a look at the upcoming week in the world of business. >> it's pretty simple formula. oil goes up and stocks go down. this week traders will keep an eye on rising crude prices with civil unrest escalating in libya and this week's day of rage being organized through facebook in saudi arabia, which is the world's biggest oil producer. which companies are hiring and which ones are cutting jobs? as the unemployment rate edges lower, we'll find out where the jobs are in this economy. the government's job openings and labor turnover report will tell us that. retailers reported overall sales rose by 4.2% last month as

confident consumers opened up those wallets. this week the government gives its reading on retail sales for last month. apple starts selling its new ipad2 on friday, and since the company lowered the price on the original ipad, if you bought one in last two weeks, apple will give you a hundred bucks back. and a couple of anniversaries to note this week. two years ago the s&p 500 dropped to a recession-bottom level of 666. it's more than twice that much now. but on thursday, it will be 11 years since the nasdaq hit an all-time high of 5038 during the height of the dotcom bubble. right now the nasdaq sits at a little more than half that am. times sure change. get all your business news on cnbc. you can get all of your business and tech news before the bell on weekdays "today in the bay" starting at 4:30 in the morning. this morning fines for nearly two dozen airlines in connection with a massive price-fixing scheme. federal prosecutors say the airlines inflated passenger and

cargo fuel surcharges between 2000 and 2006 to make up for lost profits. prosecutors say the scheme cost american consumers and businesses hundreds of millions of dollars. to date 19 executives have been charged with wrongdoing, and four have gone to prison. 21 airlines have coughed up more than $1.7 billion in fines. convicted airlines include british airways, korean air, and air france-dlm. no major u.s. carriers have been charged. speaking of air travel, here in the bay area a battle is brewing over which airport you should use to fly the friendly skies. san francisco international is seeing an increase in travelers even as san jose international is losing passengers steady and has been for years. in the last fiscal year san jose airport at 8.2 million depart e departures and arrival, down 24% from four years ago. compare that with sfo, which had

39.4 million passengers in the 2010 calendar year. t"the wall street journal" pins san jose's trouble on the dotcom crash when virgin chose sfo. san jose mayor chuck reed is asking local ceos to help lobby airlines to boost flights at that airport. much more ahead on "today in the bay." still to come, the governor gears up for a fight in the state budget battle and our political analyst larry gerston pulls no punches. and a san jose singing waiter -- or san francisco singing waiter finally hits a high note after an epic showdown with the city. [ male announcer ] diane was already

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five days. that's all governor jerry brown has to convince the legislature to put his tax continuation proposal on the ballot. brown says that is the only way to preserve basic services for programs, but opponents say

legislators ought to be cutting the $26 billion shortfall from the $85 billion budget instead of continuing taxes. nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston joins us now. five days isn't much time to convince your friends to do something much less -- >> your enemies. >> -- the people who are your enemies. >> or at least those who have a different way of looking at it. >> yeah. >> no doubt about it. it's really all about deciding what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. people sometimes forget, kris, that 70% of all the money that comes out of the general fund goes to local governments. that's where it goes. it doesn't go up in smoke. it goes for the things that we normally think get paid for other ways. public education, fire and police protection, hospitals, social services. all these types of things. the basic stuff, if you will. and some people think these local property taxes that we all pay cover it all, but they don't. they only cover a small portion of it. and that's why we're in this fix. if we don't send this money -- continue to send this money to

local governments, you're going to see all kinds of buildings and services shut down. >> okay. so what you're saying is stop yelling at sacramento and check out what you want to do at the local level if you're talking about what we should cut instead of tax. right? realistic. >> they need to realize, you know, look, we make choices in this world. we make choices. okay. you want to pay more tax, get more benefits an services, you want to not pay taxes and have fewer. what we have to realize is that there will be fewer benefits and services. if you're going to cut out $26 billion all from the budget and not from any of these tax continuation proposals brown has, you're talking act lopping off 30% of what the state government spends. most of it goes to local governments. >> okay. the tax continuation, though, it's not even -- they're not even talking about it in the legislature. >> right. >> five days. again. that's the deadline. >> the issue is not for the legislature to vote on whether we continue these taxes. the issue before the legislature

is a proposal to let the people decide what to do about these temporary tax increases passed by the legislature two years ago. now one has already expired. the income tax, surtax expired last january. the other two are set to expire in july. so here's the push. the push is to try to get these guys to say put it on the ballot. >> so what is the governor doing to get the legislature agreeing to do that, then? >> he's got the democrats, okay. >> right. >> they're swallowing hard, trust me, because they're giving up their precious allies, you know, labor and education. those are democratic allies. he's got that. but the problem is he's got to get the republicans. what's he doing? he's wooing them left and right or i guess you should say right and right. but he's wooing them. and he's trying to come to terms with them on issues that are important to the republicans. so perhaps we talk about things like spending caps. perhaps we talk about things like pension reform.

those are very big things you know that are out there right now. he's got to convince at least two republicans in the assembly and two republicans in the state senate to come on board. now, 30 of the 43 have signed a no-tax increase, period. so you can see there's not a lot of guys left for him to get in touch with and bring onto his side. >> at least it cuts down the number of people he has to woo. glass half full. is it going to happen? we have until march 9th, right? >> what the governor says is he wants it done by thursday so that all this to set up a june 7th vote. people say who cares about june 7th? why? well, the deal here is june 7th is one of the last opportunities before the state fiscal year kicks in on july 1st. you've got to know where the money is coming from. you have to know where the money is going. that's why he's saying this. as a last-minute wrinkle out here, some republicans are saying oh, no, we have a little

more time, you know, we can have this vote two weeks later on let's say march 21st, which would still allow us to be done before july 1st in terms of that -- put an election ballot issue on june 21st, excuse me, which will allow us to be done before july 1st. so there may be a two-week they, if you will, like they've done in congress. but sooner or later, you know, as they say, the chickens come home to roost. we're going to have to decide it one way or the other. the question is whether the republicans -- this is the question -- whether they will allow this issue to go before the voters. >> okay. all right. ifou want to hear more of what larry has to stay on all issues political, go to our website, nbcbayarea.com. do a search for prop zero. that's where larry's blog is. ice a good one. >> thanks. >> see you. still ahead, there are many budget battles brewing at the local level. firefighters in san jose are voting on a contract that could impose a 10% pay and benefit

cut. the firefighters union is expected to approve the deal, making it the first employee union in the city to accept those conditi concessions. we crunched the numbers and look at the worst case scenario. police officers could be laid off. some gang prevention programs could be cut. some streetlights may be shut off overnight. public libraries may have to close their doors four days a week. even if every city employee takes a 10% pay cut and benefits cut, that would only fill a third of the city's budget gap. tough times. much more ahead coming up on "today in the bay." still ahead, his stage is his restaurant. the singing waiter is finally making beautiful music. how he silenced his critics. good morning. i'm mike inouye. there's lots to do "today in the bay." ever wish you could rock out in a library? well, soon some teams are going to get their chance. san jose public library is hosting its online battle of the bands. for kids.

age 12 to 18. today is the last day for you to go to sjpl.org/battleofthebands and vote for your favorite band. the winning band will get to play a live concert at the almaden branch library on march 19th. and from rocking out to working out to, today kaiser permanente is holding the 33'd annual napa valley marathon, known as the biggest little marathon in the west. more than 2,400 runners will go the distance from calistoga to napa, 26.2 miles. and it kicks off at 7:00 in the morning on the silverado trail near rosedale road and finishes at vintage high school. the race raises money for local charities and for schools. that's what's going on "today in the bay." have yourself a great day. here's what's also happening around the bay today. you can see we've got rain flying there in san francisco. good enough to wet the pavement. what about the rest of your weekend and the workweek ahead? ♪

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take a live look at coit tower. it's there. we have rain drops on our camera lens and fog in the distance. it is a rainy star, but your commute tomorrow morning should be better. speaking of san francisco, a while back we told you about a restaurant waiter, a battle to have a singing waiter after some neighbors complained about the sound system there. "today in the bay's" joe rosato jr. shows us this one-soap opera without a tragic ending. >> reporter: we've all heard the suggestion to whistle while you work.

this waiter has his own version. >> piano bar, a lot of weddings, birthday par pi. >> reporter: the italian waiter works the tables in north beach but he isn't content just delivering plates of pasta. >> everybody has food. you know, everybody has pass ta, pizza. we wanted to try to do something different. >> reporter: that something different now on the menu is his voice. he croons to customers with the sounds of his native naples, a city that oozes music. >> you hear music from windows, from cars, and from, you know -- on the street. >> reporter: but this musical path has had a few sour notes. in order to get a permit for the si singing waiter sound system, the restaurant had to appeal to the planning commission over some neighborhood complaints. >> unfortunately, not the right way we wanted to publicize it, but it turned out okay for us.

>> reporter: with the permits coming through just this week, he is now free to sing his heart out. >> i love singing. that's for sure. and i love my job. and so combine these two things for me is very important. >> one in a million. he could definitely be up there with your andrea bochelli and all the other opera singers as well. >> reporter: the singing waiter figures food and music go together, the kind of dining experience that ends on a high note. >> and that was joe rosato jr. reporting. coming up on "today in the bay," rob has a look at your weekcad refost. california should be proud.

we were the first to ban smoking on airplanes. the first to have smoke-free bars and restaurants. all while saving over $86 billion in health care costs... and over a million lives. we've done a good job. but even if you were born today, you'd still grow up in a world where tobacco kills more people... than aids, drugs, alcohol, murder and car crashes... combined. we have a lot more work to do.

welcome back. let's show you what's going on in san jose right now. we have 55 very muggy degrees around the south bay this morning, some light rain nearby, southeast wind at 5 miles an

hour. oakland, 54, the air fully saturated, up to 100% humidity with light rain falling. san francisco, kind of tough to see right now as we have low clouds, ceiling close to 300 or 400 feet, causing some inbound flight delays to sfo this morning. the rain, marin county, spotty flooding around northbound 101 around lucky drive. you can see the rainfall so far. a quarter inch or less for most places. a few exceptions in the north bay. the rain does continue to fly around the north bay, around sonoma county heading into napa county. pock e ets of moderate rain. san francisco and oakland catching a break heading for the east bay. the rain around san ramon, san jose, some rain off to the east and around the santa cruz mountains. we also have some rain showers there widely scattered areas of light to moderate rain. i think this is the most rain we will see today. you can see a break in the clouds just offshore. and that should start to drop our way as we head towards the

afternoon and this evening. so, yes, have ar rainy and muggy start to the morning. then we should see the skies try to clear a little later on with some showers tapering off for tonight. then the winds are going to kick in. that's going to help clear out our skies heading into monday. maybe a few showers around some of the hilltops but things will be much drier for the workweek. for now, widespread rain. things clear out for monday. one more chance of seeing showers. i think this will come in for monday night and early tuesday morning. then things will warm up as we head towards the middle part of the week. around the bay area today, not a bad day, but not as warm as yesterday and obviously not quite as dry. upper 50s to near 60 around san jose. along the coast, mid to upper 50s. east bay, temperatures climbing into the upper 50s. the cloud cover and rain drops, everyone pretty much has same temperature today, one big micro climate, rainy start with showers shutting down heading through evening. look for winds picking up, northwest winds 10 to 20 miles per hour. temperatures by midweek, kris,

could get close to 70 in parts of the bay area. something to look forward to middle part of the week. back to you. >> we will look forward to that. thank you. "meet the press" is just moments away. here's david gregory with a preview. >> good morning. coming up, what do the events sweeping the middle east mean for america's economic recovery? can the white house and republicans reach an agreement on how deeply to cut government spending? we'll ask my exclusive guest, white house chief of staff william dailey. as the tea party agenda, guiding republicans or laying the foundation for success in 2012? with us the head of the tea party caucus in the house, the republican congresswoman from minnesota, michele bachmann. all on "meet the press." thanks for making us a part of your morning and your weekend. more local news for you tonight at 5:00, 6:00, and 11:00. anytime of day you can check out the latest news at nbcbayarea.com. some fun stories there as well. have a great day, a great weekend, and we'll see you soon.

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