>> san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi accused of domestic violence against his wife heads back to court today. he has a new attorney. what he wants now, coming up in a live report. >> police investigating a brazen robbery in palo alto. what he did has residents watching their back. >> a would-be thief messes with the wrong guy. an elderly man's career helped him wrestle gun man. >> a live look outside this morning, can you make it out? that's the golden gate bridge on this thursday, january 26, this is "today in the bay."

>> good morning to one and all. a few seconds before 4:31. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. lots to get to. let's check the forecast with meteorologist christina loren in our weather center. >> good morning to you. we told you it was going to be foggy and you will need to give yourself extra time along the peninsula. to the south bay the fog is not that bad. temperatures are downright mild this morning. 57 in sunnyvale, 56 san jose because of the low clouds. we'll let you know what that means and when the fog will clear coming up. first, we want to see if it's impacting your drive. >> i did get mist on my windshield so there is a great note for you. construction as well, southbound 880, the transition to westbound 237, you cannot use that connector ramp until the crews

clear. i saw the truck arrive about 4:00 so they should be on schedule heading over to westbound 237 but we'll watch as they work on that. >> thank you, mike. >> san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi heading back before a judge today as his domestic abuse case moves forward. >> this time with a new lawyer. christie smith joins us live from san francisco where the sheriff will be in court later today. good morning, christie. >> reporter: good morning. lots of twists and turns. sheriff ross mirkarimi will be back in court in san francisco this afternoon, a new attorney by his side to defend him against these domestic violence charges. a female defense attorney out of berkeley. what he's doing is trying to get a modification of a stay away order. he was ordered to stay away from his wife and their 2-year-old son. he wants to see his son. he pleaded not guilty last week to charges of domestic violence involving an alleged incident with his wife on new year's eve.

according to published reports, the prosecution's witness list actually includes his wife who has made statements that her husband is innocent, didn't do it and is a victim of politics. also, another woman apparently on the list, a woman who filed a police report claiming that mirkarimi abused her when they once dated. he is due back in court at 2:30 this afternoon. the trial expected to start on february 24th. live in san francisco, christie smith. jon and laura, back to you. >> thank you. it's 4:33. five suspects accused in the drive by shooting that killed a teenager is scheduled to be back in court to enter pleas. they face charges of murder and attempted murder. prosecutors say the five men shot and killed 14-year-old tara romero. three other teens were also injured. police believe the suspects are connected to a gang. >> a man who saw his father and

two brothers gunned down took the stand against the gang member accused of killing them. prosecutors say 24-year-old edwin ramos shot tony bologna and his two sons to death as they drove through san francisco back in 2008. andrew bologna was shot. yesterday he testified that he saw ramos pull the trigger. ramos says he was driving the car but was not the gunman. police think the bolognas were mistaken for rival gang members. >> people on edge this morning after a recent armed robbery. police say a man was at the center getting his jewelry appraised at a store and returned to his car with the jewelry when four well-dressed men approached him. one beat the man up using a pistol. the thieves took off with the jewelry. the man was taken to the hospital. police think he was targeted from the beginning.

shoppers say they never worried about safety until now. >> we come here quite often because i work at stanford so it's near to that place. >> the thieves got away in a black dodge minivan. if you know anything about this, please you are asked to call palo alto police. >> hundreds of oakland city workers packed a council meeting fighting to keep their jobs. workers chanted and stomped their feet as council members discussed more than 100 layoffs. the city issued 2500 pink slips ahead of the february 1 deadline to dissolve all redevelopment agencies in california. the city leaders are cutting jobs to close a $28 million deficit created by the loss of those redevelopment funds. >> the point is that we have people that work for the city and they are being laid off. we have management that does nothing and they are not being laid off. >> oakland city council will

vote tuesday on how many will be laid off. >> it is 4:35 now. call this one case closed. caltrans reached a settlement with a former technician fired for falsifying bridge safety tests. duane wilds was fired for allegedly fabricating data. he also worked on the bay bridge. according to the "sacramento bee" under the settlement he will be unfired and then allowed to resign. this prevents him from filing a wrongful termination suit and may have spared caltrans airing dirty laundry in a public hearing. >> a move to repeal the high speed rail project is closer to the ballot. the california secretary of state giving the go ahead to start gathering signatures to get rid of the $98 billion project. the initiative dubbed the no train please act would eliminate the high speed rail authority and prevent state fundraising for the project.

petitioners have until june 21gather 800,000 signatures to put it up for vote. >> a local high school basketball coach is speaking out about his decision to kick 13 varsity players off of the team. mike allen of gunderson high tells us he initially suspended a handful of varsity players for what he called bad behavior, being late to practice. eight other playered confronted the coach during practice tuesday. now the coach says those players may return to the team but only if they show respect for the school's athletic program and staff. >> understand that you know, a coach is here to teach and everything to motivate to challenge them to be the best they can be. if players do not respond to that, a coach has to make a decision. >> school officials support his decision to suspend players, the coach is now working with a crop of freshmen and sophomores who

stepped up to fill the void after the varsity team's mass exodus. >> might be important life lessons there. a little bit of a warm wave bathing the bay area. christina loren tells us about it. >> it feels downright tropical. an indication of how much moisture we have to deal with in the form of fog. you can see that from the golden gate bridge and we are not seeing the worst yet. i think that the densest fog will develop as we head through 6:00 to 8:00 right in the heart of your morning drive. mike and i will be right here to guide you through that. 55 in san jose this morning, at 52 in livermore. and it is downright balmy this morning in sunnyvale, 57 degrees. we've got a nice day setting up. we're going to see the fog from the north bay, in fact, you may not get out of it in san francisco. the south bay we'll see enough clearing to hit the 60s and we'll stay mild, ahead we have winds picking up. it works out like this today.

temperatures in the 60s, 63 in milpitas, 57 in danville. struggling to make it out of the upper 50s in blackhawk with a pretty fair amount of fog as we head throughout the day. down to the south bay temperatures mild, you still have that chance of rain in the forecast. i'll get to that in my next report. 4:39. we'll see if there are problems that could slow you down as you head to work. >> that mist should slow you down because there might be slick roadways around the bay area. right now we're looking at a nice flow past the coliseum. the glowing lights again, moisture in the air and that will change as far as thicker fog. past the coliseum the view the is okay. if you drive construction around high street, not causing major problems. and there is the flow to the bay bridge toll plaza. no advisories. we're watching for visibility but so far okay. the north bay, yeah, you'll get hit with tough fog from time to time. things will get thicker until

the sun rise starts to burn things off. a nice feed. consider lowering them. like at the golden gate bridge i would suggest slowing it down. there is the fog. that's the bridge shot. it's not just two lights in front of the camera. maybe it is. trust us, that's the golden gate bridge. >> that's the difference. thanks so much. >> it's been said there is a hero in all of us. that holds for an elderly man who took a robber by surprise. >> he started chasing the thief. look at the security video that caught it all. 70-year-old man standing there u shoving the gun man. he turned around and slapped that gun away, chases the suspect out of the store. >> you get back here. >> you know what, he is a retired police officer from india. police believe the suspect connected to three other robberies over several days. they say don't take justice in your own hands. he chased him out. >> yeah. looked like from the movie

scream. still ahead, a new take on sustainability. how a business is getting customers to think refills instead of landfills. >> forget sales, jc penney putting its merchandise on sale permanently. the logic behind the move. >> president obama getting a vote of confidence from a brand new poll. how americans are feeling about the economy coming up next. >> follow your news, weather and traffic updates. check us out on facebook.

>> welcome back everyone. live look outside from the south bay this morning. shark tank where you're going to see a lot of great skaters out there. they have got the u.s. -- john kely is doing the skating here. he's throwing me off. 44 now. >> new this morning the latest nbc polls show americans are starting to feel more optimistic about the economy as president obama starts talking jobs in the western states. 37% of americans think the economy will get better this year, the president making stops in nevada and colorado this morning to talk about clean energy and job creation. yesterday he told a crowd in arizona he wants to create more jobs by ending corporate tax breaks. >> let's get it done. let's stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas. >> a poll also finds most

americans think the country is heading on the wrong track. that's fueling republican candidates in florida. newt gingrich and mitt romney continue to trade jobs over immigration. romney wants to end the public benefits for illegal immigrants so they will deport themselves. gingrich says that's a joke. meantime, a comment by newt gingrich is causing a stir here in the bay area. here's the deal. he slammed san francisco when asked about congresswoman nancy pelosi's statement that gingrich could never beat president obama. >> she lives in a san francisco environment of very strange fantasies and strange understandingings of reality. >> fantasies aren't strange. some people here in the bay area say they are offended but not too surprised by the statement. san francisco state university professor jason mcdaniel says gingrich's comments could backfire. >> i think it's not that he is

painting california and the pay area and san francisco as a lost cause, he is showing them as an opponent, someone that you know, americans shouldn't emulate. >> how is this for timing. gingrich will be in san francisco next month for a fundraising event. >> jc penney taking a new approach to shopping. everything is on sale every day. beginning february 1 it will permanently mark down all of its merchandise by at least 40%, meaning shoppers no longer have to wait for sales to get the lowest price. the plan is similar to walmart's iconic every day low pricing strategy. instead of undercutting all of the com petters the aim is to take the guesswork out of shopping by offering more predictable pricing. >> time to get a check of the markets. jackie is live at cnbc world headquarters. good morning. >> good morning to you, guys. futures turned higher this morning after markets got a boost from the fed which extended its pledge to keep

interest rates low until 2014. that was longer than previous forecasts. that suggests that the fed is worried that the economy could hit some speed bumps. it could keep bond yields move and make everything more affordable as banks tend to tie interest rates to the 10-year treasury note. some data ob unemployment and earnings from at&t, caterpillar and 3m crossing the wires. the dow rose 81 points to close at 12,756, the nasdaq up 31, 2818. new airfare rules today. they include requiring airlines to have a prominent link on their website to a page disclosing fees for things like checking bags and changing flights. you'll be able to hold a fare or reservation for 24 hours without paying for it or being penalized for canceling. netflix may be regaining its footing after suffering customer backlash in the wake of a price

increase and botched plans to split up its streaming video and dvd by mail businesses. it added 610,000 new subscribers in the past three months, the company still faces challenges, though, as content deals with disney and time warner expire. >> thank you very much, jackie. >> we can tell you parts of texas getting pounded with wind and rain as a powerful storm system moves through. down in houston, rain flooding roads and freeways and high winds knocking down trees and east of austin runoff from heavy rains carrying a thick layer of ash into a local lake. the ash was left from the wild fires that scorched that area. despite the rain much of the state is suffering through severe drought conditions. >> a tough run there. you're going to feel the warmth probably, the difference when you walk out the door this morning. we could. >> it's mild out there. it's kind of refreshing. it's not frigid. but we do have dangerous fog developing especially right

along the peninsula and up through marin county this morning, though, look at your temperature in sunnyvale. 57 degrees. yeah, and that means because we're starting out so mild we'll easily hit the mid-60s even with the pretty good amount of fog throughout the first part of the day. high pressure sin control and has moved a little closer to the great basin. the second half of the day we'll see offshore winds start to develop. breezy to windy throughout the east bay hills and the north bay mountains. dense fog the first part of the day. later on low to mid-60s, then tomorrow we're not going to have to deal with as much fog so we'll see a warmer afternoon. it all works like this for today, temperatures climbing pretty warm in places like gilroy, 66 degrees. you climb to 57 in blackhawk. 52 degrees, that's it up in the north bay. i think san rafael will stay cool with a fair amount of cloud cover all day long. we stay mild all the way through the weekend. a few showers return tuesday

into wednesday. we'll talk more about that and what that means for the sierra nevada. yeah, still want to insist that you get tickets because there is more snow on the way. we'll talk about that coming up. back to you guys. >> talk about it, let's get a bus going there. >> my co-worker conscious of this stuff. while some of us are getting used to bringing our own bag to go shopping, others are moving beyond. >> bring your own containers to fill up cleaning supplies. the motto at green 11 in san francisco is refill not land fill. customers bring in empty containers, have them filled with laundry detergent and soap and shampoo. they say it takes planning but it's worth it. >> a lot of the shampoos you use it for a month and you buy it again. so this idea you can bring in any container and use that old container to buy the same thing over and over. >> i have two bottles so when one gets low i bring it in here and they weigh it so if there is a little left it's all right.

>> products are sold by the ounce. it's an adjustment any one can make. >> i like that as long as they have mr. bubble. i'll check that out. it's a major boost from a local family. their record breaking donation. >> san francisco international wants to help you find your zen as you travel. where you can find the airport's new yoga room, next. >> as we follow downward out of the altamont pass a smooth flow of traffic. we have spots with construction and more to watch for. i'll give you that coming up. [ other merv ] welcome back to the cleaning games.

let's get a recap, merv. [ merv ] thanks, other merv. mr. clean magic eraser extra power was three times faster on permanent marker. elsewhere against dirt, it was a sweep, with scuffed sports equipment... had it coming. grungy phones... oh! super dirty! and grimy car rims... wow! that really works! ...all taking losses. it looks like mr. clean has won everything. the cleaning games are finished? and so are we. okay, but i just took a mortgage out on the cabinet. [ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power.

>> welcome back on this thursday morning. i love this time of day at the bay bridge toll plaza. you can count the cars out there. about eight right there. smooth flowing now. mike will tell you about. christine will talk about the weather. >> a bay area couple is making history with an unprecedented donation to a south bay hospital. john and susan sobrato pledged $5 million to the new santa clara valley medical center building. it's called the largest private

donation to any public hospital west of the mississippi. the voters approved money for the building but there was no money to furnish it. that's when the couple stepped in. they are throwing in a bonus, they will match any other donations up to $5 million through 2013. >> peninsula residents have a chance to hear from pg&e and the utilities commission to hear what they have done to make gas lines safer. the commission along with pg&e will present status reports on the safety improvemented made to the gas pipeline infrastructure since the san bruno explosion. the pipeline safety forum will start at 6:00 tonight at palo alto city hall. >> apple lovers descending on san francisco this weekend for the annual mac world exhibition. the three-day event starting today at the must coney center. watch demonstrations of software, even do hands on experimenting with the latest

apps. mac world start this is morning at 10:00. >> time to check the morning commute. we looked at the bay bridge. didn't look like a lot of folks there. >> jon was right, there were about eight cars at the time. mac world, around san francisco as well for the rest of the weekend. to the south bound 880, transitioning to westbound 237, construction crews should be clearing even as we speak. there's more going on all the way westbound up to about great america parkway as they work on the express lane. hoping to open that the end of february. san jose, santa clara. construction at lark avenue as well as down to bear creek, here is highway 92 over the water a. glow to the lights. watch the peninsula, a lot of fog expected there. >> thank you very much. here is an only in the bay area story for you. sfo is opening a zen room for travelers who want to do yoga

before catching their flight. >> the facility opening today and guess what, it's free for a passenger who wants to hang out and meditate, stretch or do whatever else might help them find their inner balance and inner shockra. coming up, our own bob redell, you know, he'll join us live to look inside this new room. >> 4:57 now. still ahead on "today in the bay" we could start seeing a lot more electric cars on the california roadways. the move state lawmakers are considering that could change the face of the auto industry. >> a teenager facing serious charges after allegedly attacking a young tourist. the evidence that police are reviewing in the case coming up.

>> reporter: new this morning