new this morning, what a way to start a friday morning. thousands of pg&e customers in san francisco in the dark this morning. we'll tell you why and exactly which neighborhoods are impacted coming up in a live report. overnight the sales tax jumped to nearly 10% in some east bay cities. where the exa money is going and where shoppers are going instead. plus, radiation fears from japan. what it means for our fish here locally. and a live look outside this morning. the beautiful bay bridge. it is friday, april 1st. april fool's day.

this is "today in the bay." good morning. i'm scott mcgrew. oh, we got you already. i'm laura garcia-cannon filling in for him. he has the day off. i think he was too scared to come to work today, christina. i'm not too scared to come to work today. after all, it is going to be 100 degrees. april fools. 65 degrees in san francisco. very mild start. 57 degrees in oakland. and 58 degrees in hayward. where are we headed today? well, we got very close to the 90s yesterday. 88 degrees in los gatos. 87 in napa. and the east bay cities also hit the mid to upper 80s. we'll let you know if we broke any records yesterday. we think you'll enjoy the cooler weekend. let's get you to work now with mike inouye. no joking about this, we

have a first good look at the maze. this is a pleasant way to be onguard near the east bay side, but we have a sigalert in the city. one issue on the city streets, laura and christie have more on that, but an earlier truck fire is still blocking two lanes of southbound 101 up to cesar chavez. that was his day yesterday to observe all the work he's done for the workers in the area. but two lanes are closed coming out of the area. two right lanes are blocked for the time being. that's been going on for hours. that's the truck fire. we have more on the city streets as well. thousands of people in san francisco could be late to work this morning. their alarm clocks may not go off because of the overnight power outage. christie smith is live with more on what happened. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. happy friday. we are at hays street in san francisco where i have to tell you the entire neighborhood is in the dark because of what pg&e is calling an underground equipment failure. they have a crew out here

working on it. they have been working on it for some time. this started about 12:30 this morning. 6600 customers without power in this neighborhood and to the west of here, that is. it briefly spoke to a woman here who believes a manhole cover blew and smoke came out of it. it set off alarms in the neighborhood and woke people up. basically it has been dark ever sinls. but it is kind of random the way it is. one block is completely dark and then you look the other way, perhaps down the street here, and you can see street lights are on. this is affecting signal lights and street lights. also san francisco police are out here directing traffic at the bigger intersections. this is kind of a small one, so we have seen people rolling through doing a california stop, if you will, and some brake screeching. be careful this morning as you head out. pg&e is saying they are not sure

exactly when power will be restored, so for a lot of people it will be a very slow friday morning. live in san francisco, christie smith, "today in the east bay." thank you, christie. 4:33 now. get ready for sticker shock. prices aren't going up but your sales tax is, and we are not talking pennies. starting today six cities in the bay area will boast the highest sales tax rates in the state. the money raised will go to libraries and preserving city services but small businesses are bracing for what's to come. "today in the east bay's" elise kirshner is here to report the latest tax is 9.75%. >> reporter: the voter tax increase passed by 54% here in concord, but now that it is real and it is here and people are about to see it at the cash register, some people we spoke to say they have a bit of buyer's remorse. >> well, i think it is just adding insult to injury. >> reporter: it may only be a half cent increase, but dave

guinerra says it still hurts. >> how are you going to attract people to come to buy here in concord if you raise the sales tax? >> reporter: as of friday the sales tax goes to 9.75%. working two jobs, guinerra says this could make him cross the border to walnut creek. >> how high will it go? we are soon going to be over 10%. >> reporter: at this local meat market business is down already 30%. sergio carillo worries the small increase will make shoppers cut back even more to ultimately put his job in jeopardy. >> if business isn't working, i might have to go. >> there's no question we are facing additional layoffs and reductions. we have already cut 25% of the workforce here. >> reporter: with 100 positions already slashed, city manager

dan keen says the voter-approved pressure was necessary to stop deeper cuts. and while the tax is expected to bring in as much as $10 million, it won't bring back any positions. >> unfortunately, the tax only filled a gap in our budget, and it is only for five years. we still face at least $3 million in additional reductions over the next five to seven years. >> you know, they are trying to increase revenue, of course, but i think they are just chasing people out of california. >> reporter: and as you just heard, some people think it is too high, but it is not the highest in the state. that distinction goes to a city in l.a. county called south gate. there people are dealing with a 10.75% sales tax. in concord, elise kirshner for "today in the bay." it has been three weeks since the disaster in japan and new developments are developing this morning. two giant concrete pumps, the largest in the world, will head

to the strike zone to dump water on the reactors at the fukushima nuclear power plant. they can be used to entomb the reactors in concrete. also, pressure is mounting on the japanese government to expand the 12-mile evacuation done zone around the nuclear power plant. radiation in a city 25 miles away have reached levels too dangerous. the safety agency ordered a review of the latest measurements taken in air, sea water and groundwater samples around the leaking plant. in the meantime, contaminated human remains are keeping crews of collecting the bodies of 1,000 disaster victims. here in the u.s. the epa and fda are boosting their testing lives levels. now as radiation levels are rising in seawater around

japan's fukushima plant, concern is turning to the fish swimming in it. a berkeley engineer is tracking the migration of radiation from japan. >> many fish products are imported from japan to the united states, but it is -- it takes time. it does not -- it is not imparted so quickly. >> the professor says radiation particles in the water will sink to the bottom of the ocean or become dill luted in the food chain making the fish safe to eat. another damaging day could be ahead for former giants star barry bond. yesterday for the first time a witness testified to actually seeing bonds injected. bonds former personal shopper kathy who is hoskins says she saw anderson injected bonds in the naval but didn't know what was in the syringe.

she said he said, quote, it is a little something for when i go on the road. it can't be detected. arthur king contracted previous statements saying he never had conversations with steve hoskins about bonds' alleged steroid use. an east bay teacher on the run from the law is in custody this morning accused of lewd acts with a student. 63-year-old charles redmond checked himself into a san diego hospital monday after fleeing to mexico last week. redmond is accused of improperly touching an eighth grade boy, making lewd comments to him and other boys at park middle school in antioch. medical privacy laws prevent police from saying why redmond was in the hospital. he is scheduled for extradition next to contra costa county next week. police in north richmond are bracing for more violence after two deadly shootings this week. officers say the deaths of young men on tuesday and wednesday nights were provoked by last week's killing of a richmond gang member in san francisco. it is likely it resurrected a

long-running feud between two street gangs. extra patrol cars are in the problem areas now. i was out and about yesterday, and it felt warm, christina. >> i hope brent was behind you fanning you down. >> no, i was pushing the stroller. >> pushing the stroller. a good day for that. a good day for dog walking. and today is just a pip ch cooler in most cities. well, about ten degrees cooler. we almost hit 90 in los gatos, 88. that was the rm with aest city. 87 in napa breaking all kind of temperature records across the bay area. oakland, you set a new temperature record. oakland hit 85 degrees yesterday. so another warm one on tap. we'll detract maybe 10 degrees, five to ten degrees on average. you have a big ridge of high pressure still in place, but the ridge has shifted a little bit closer to the four corners region. for us today we'll see a few more clouds come through. then as of saturday this trough

moves through. this is going to cool us down substantially. not just that but to bring shower activity to the north bay. right now it is really mild out there, 65 degrees in san francisco. 57 degrees in san mateo. and when you are waking up with temperatures right around 65 degrees you don't need the jacket. in fact, today's temperatures are going to end up close to 80 once again today. 78 degrees is your forecasted high in san francisco. 79 in redwood city. meanwhile, we are talking about the low 80s in san jose, gilroy and los gatos. now, we do have a big weekend on tap. stay tuned, i'm going to give you the seven-day outlook in a minute to tell you what to expect for this saturday, sunday, and what day is best for outdoor plans. if you have to get to work, it is friday light. how is it looking? i just got an update on the chp incident report. the fire i was talking about, a couple lanes were blocked southbound 101 out of the city. now it is actually just clearing from the system. we do have the power outage

christie smith told us about. that's at hays and gulf affecting the area near the civic center. many street lights are out and signal lights as well. this is a major problem for the morning commute as folks get off the bay bridge heading to 101 through the city. christie is on the scene with updates as this continues throughout the morning. the rest of the maze is moving smoothly. it is a friday, so we expect a lighter volume of traffic. a live look at the toll plaza shows good speeds around the area. the toll plaza is not showing a backup at the bay bridge. a nice flow from oakland into san francisco. we'll end with that shot of the maze. back to you. i hope it stays that way. thank you very much. 4:42 right now. coming up, an east bay newspaper's early april fool's prank. funny or in poor taste? plus, help for women with menopause. the alternative treatment women say may work to ease symptoms. and getting your baby to sleep well. the free customized advice at your fingertips to help you all

get a good night's rest. and a live look outside at the beautiful bay bridge this morning. nice temperatures once again. spring has sprung. it is 4:42.

good morning to you.

taking a live look from oakland and 880 this morning. traffic is picking up, but it is early. it is 4:45 right now. it is april fool's day. and it is a zinger in a local newspaper. did they go too far? some people living in san leandro are upset because of the spoof in "the san leandro times." the city announce that i had were building a nuclear power plant and invited folks to a ribbon cutting. it became clear that the article was later a hoax. many residents were not calling this a good prank saying it was insensiti insensitive. 20d today president obama is pushing america's dependence on foreign oil. let's go to nicole lapin with more news this morning. >> reporter: good morning. futures are indeed higher ahead of the big economic report of the day, the march jobs report. economists expect a second

straight month of solid but not spectacular gains. most of it will likely come from the private sector. the unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 8.9%. aside from that main focus, we get data on construction spending. asian and european markets were also higher today. wall street did close out the best first quarter since 1999. the dow rose 6.6%. and april was actually bullish for stocks. the best performing market over 12 years. the dow fell yesterday and the nasdaq edged up a bit to 2781. also making headlines this morning, toyota is raises prices on vehicle models in the united states by up to 2.2% starting in may. the increases range from about $200 for the hatchback to $900

for the land cruiser and other suvs. japan's largest auto plant remains shut down this morning, but we are told it doesn't have anything to do with that. it has determined the values need to raise due to shipping cost. the national auto dealerships have seen a rise in compact cars, like the toyota corolla and ford focus. mid-sized cars are up 8%. trade-in values are rising because of the higher gas prices but could rise more this month when the dealers could have shortages from the popular japanese models we just talked about due to the cut in production. those are the latest headlines. back to you. >> i wonder what the rates are on big buses because that's what i need to haul my caravan around. >> reporter: your whole triplet caboodle. then you can write that off your

taxes. it is an expense. >> always thinking. i like it. hey, thanks. let's go to christina loren right now talking about the great temperatures. >> get the kids a little guitar. >> we'll be like the von trapps. >> you can make a pretty penny. it is really mild out there this morning. you don't need a jacket. take a look where we ended up yesterday. 88 in los gatos. 87 in napa. i talked to people up in the north bay who said it felt hotter than 90 degrees. so records broken and shattered yesterday. today we'll be in record territory, but i don't think we are going to smash as many records as yesterday. high pressure is still in control. you can see that here on the satellite imagery. clouds are arcing up around that ridge, but it has broken down a bit and taken a trip off to the east. so right now it is positioned, the center of it, is right over the four corners region. that means a few more clouds will come through.

then by saturday the trough digs in to bring about a little shower activity with a couple isolated showers in the south bay. the north bay is not going to see a super soaker by any stretch. waking up in concord, 55 mild degrees later today. the east bay cities will see the 80s. 81 in concord today. 82 in fairfield. 82 for livermore. if you are headed to the peninsula, i think they are going to get the best of the weather today. it will be just gorgeous with a nice breeze and temperatures in the upper 70s. we'll take you through your extended forecast coming up. but right now i'm going to send it back to the woman in charge, laura garcia-cannon. that sounds nice. thank you very much. the a's are going to start their season tonight at home against seattle. the first pitch is at 1:05. the a's will donate some of the proceeds to the relief efforts in jan pennsylvania $1 of every ticket sold goes to the red

cross. sunday's game is at 1:05. the a's established a new website to donate money to japan as well. coming up, a promising treatment to help ease symptoms of menopause. plus, help to get mom, dad and babies more sleep. it is right at your fingertips, and it is free. and we are looking at your friday commute. my goodness, a little too close to the don't mateged t n't get that close to the real cars. we'll show you how things are shaput tup forcomme. y mog inute.

welcome back, everyone. here's a beautiful look at the bay bridge this morning. nice temperatures on tap once again for today. a little cooler, so that will be nice. it is 4:54. let's check in with brent cannon with what's coming up later. we have good news this morning about safety on the highway. we'll take a look at how advances in car safety technology may be reducing the number of highway deaths. and the interesting numbers are coming up in that story. also we have another type of technology that could be causing traffic problems. so a couple things to sort out there. we'll also tell you about a campaign designed to keep drivers' attention on the road. and sometimes we wonder what goes through the mind of bob redell. we'll try to find out as he takes us through wondercon. i have no idea what he's up to this morning. >> there are some places you just don't want to go. thank you, brent.

see you in a few. let's go to mike right now who has a look at our early commute. >> even on a friday you have slowing through antioch, probably around 5:45. that's when you'll see the slowing where it says 67 at l street. no major issues through concord and into walnut creek off 680. 680 and interstate 880 coming across the cartinas and venetian bridges are moving smoothly. over to the sierra, a lot of folks could take that starting early afternoon. they are seeing the best snow we have had in a long time near the sere, or 580 eastbound out of livermore. keep those routes in mind early today. 13 minutes for the westbound driver through this screen and across to the dublin interchange. crossing the bay we'll look at the san mateo bridge. a nice, easy, light drive right now. the peninsula will be beautiful this day, this friday, and we'll have nice commuting. we should have a lighter friday commute. so far clear on 101 and 280. 4:55 right now. important news for women this

morning. acupuncture could prove to be a great option to ease menopause symptoms. two new studies show acupuncture significantly reducing the severity and frequency of hot flashes and other symptoms. hormones can also treat the symptoms but studies show they could increase the risk of certain diseases. doctors link the treatment's success with an increase in endorphins. the whole process can takeless than 30 minutes. australian researchers may have discovered the cause of sudden death infant syndrome. for example, if something goes down the wrong pipe it keeps you from breathing in liquid, but sids could happen when a child has a problem with the reflux and stops breathing. additional studies are being done to determine why the brain regions malfunction. fortunately for most parents the biggest worry isn't sids, it is just trying to keep the baby asleep. johnson & johnson created a

website to give cost tomized advice to parents to improve their child's sleep habits. it cut the number of night wakings in half. more sleep for baby means more sleep for mom. the moms had fewer symptoms of fatigue and depression when they got more sleep. you can find the latest on the study at www dotns johnsonons oh baby.com. did a smart meter try to get smuggled into one city where it is ban?s ed

pg&ex-is making headlines this morning, this time it is accused of tricking people in one city. plus, san francisco city hall has gone orange in the path for the giants, but we'll tell you why they are going blue today. and