i'm jon kelley. it's time to check back in with meteorologist christina loren and let's get this straight. beautiful weather, it's friday, doesn't get much better than this. >> it doesn't. let's get you out the front door so you can get to work, get it over with and enjoy the weekend. 55 degrees in san jose. we have dropped off significantly because the winds are dying down which is good news for the fire fighting efforts up in the napa area right now. we'll have a full report. throughout the day, temperatures will be on the mild side again, and then things change. rain in the forecast, we'll talk about that, first we'll check your drive with mike. >> we follow up the report of a big rig down in the south bay with a couple of blown tires on the shoulder. that rig may still be there as the transition from northbound 880 off of northbound 101. but more importantly, in lanes reports of an aluminum ladder now, that may be causing some of the slowdown. there may abtraffic break going on. you see the slowing nobody 101 from 680 to the interchange,

early so we'll track this and i'll let you know whether they get things cleared up. >> a lot of people have to gas up. brace yourself, though, prices continue to soar to record heights. in the bay area it's topped $4 a gallon and it shows no sign of slowing. bob redell is live with more on what's fueling the increase. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning. we're at a 76 station here at stern and stevens creek in cupertino. you say average $4 a gallon. this is one of the most expensive places to buy gas in the south bay. it's just under $4.50 a gallon. that represents an increase over the past seven days, the past week, a jump of 25 cents. we're getting close to having record highs for just this time of the year. this is courtesy of aaa, you can see the latest averages, overnight san jose averaging $4.20, oakland $4.19, san francisco $4.26.

again these are jumps of 25, 26 cents a gallon over the past week. this is the earliest time of the year we've seen prices get this high. remember, it's only february. we have not hit the summer driving season. the price of oil is up, partly because of speculators, partly because of the improving economy and also because of concerns over what is going on in iran. there's a lot of worry that country, they seem to indicate they are trying to develop a nuclear weapon and there is the possibility of conflict there. they are a huge oil producer. if something happens there, that affects us. we have a local issue. i mean the state of california. supply is down because of a fire at a bp oil refinery in washington state that took place a week ago. as a result, bp has had to come to california to get its own gasoline to make up for its shortfall. you have lower supply, higher demand, prices go up. so where are we going from here?

right now analysts do not think we'll break the records we saw in 2008. if there is no conflict in iran. reporting live here, heading 280 south, we'll show you one of the places to buy gas in san jose. bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you, bob. 6:03. president obama and the republican candidates talking about gas prices in fact. the president reasserted his belief that america needs to double down on clean energy during a speech yesterday. two candidates disagreed. mitt romney said the answer is drilling for oil and gas in the u.s. and newt gingrich made his thoughts on green energy clear. >> people will disagree deeply with barack obama over the idea we should wait until he grows enough algae. >> greener fuel may eventually make a difference but a more immediate relief appears to be nowhere in sight. >> it is a rare sight in the bay area, a republican presidential candidate but newt gingrich coming this weekend.

the former speaker of the house attending the california republican convention in burlingame. he will give the keynote speech at a lunch tomorrow. >> crews are working to find a wild fire. the soda fire is about 50% contained. it burned about 40 acres. cal fire says it started when a controlled burn at a vineyard got out of control. while controlled burns were allowed investigators are trying to determine if there was a permit. so far no injuries. >> 6:04. the coast guard helicopters and alameda fire spending the morning searching for a missing boater in the san francisco bay. so far no luck. stephanie is live where the search has been called off. >> reporter: good morning. the helicopter search has been called off. the coast guard is circling the waters here for a patrol just in case. we want to show you oakland fire

department got here and they have been walking back and forth trying to secure what is called a hazmat boom. a resident heard a loud boom and when police got here they found this boat launched out of the water, crashed almost upside down. they also found one woman in her late 20s or so, they helped her onto land but she was drunk, uncooperative, didn't have identification and would not provide any. she gave changing stories to investigators, claiming there was another woman on board with her who left an row boat. that's when they called the search. then they said she changed her story and said the woman left on foot. police aren't sure if there is a second woman. with such apparent speed authorities are taking every precaution. >> a both of this size to impact the shore it appears a high rate of speed. that was confirmed also.

slight damage to the hull. to get the boat out of the water is not something you see every day. >> reporter: the woman who was found on board was eventually arrested for public intoxication. she will be questioned while police try to figure out who she is, who owns the boat. back here live, police were able to contacts the last registered owner of the boat who said it was sold but there is not much information on that. police are looking on the streets for the possible missing boater. stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." >> san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi going on trial today for domestic violence charges. a judge will be assigned to the case this morning and is expected to rule on the defense motion to exclude key evidence including a video taken by the neighbor. in that mirkarimi's wife reported hi describes how mirkarimi bruised her arm on new year's eve and she also talks about previous abuse. mirkarimi's attorneys say that

video may have been part of a calculated effort by lopez to try to create evidence for a possible child custody case. >> a water district will have to dish out $72,000 because of environmental violations. the east bay municipal district was fined for two spills in 2010. according to the contra costa times. in one, 4,000 gallons of water spilled into a storm drain, killing at least 25 rainbow trout. >> tomorrow san francisco occupy demonstrators planning to deliver a message right to the front door of a wells fargo executive, planning to put up a foreclosure notice and stage a mock auction at the home of the ceo. they say they have no choice but to make a house call after dozens of messages were ignored. they accuse wells fargo refusing to modify loans despite wrong

doing. >> despite threats that hundreds would be laid off, oakland managed to pull its budget together and lay off just 21 employees. the city was forced to make cuts after the state pulled $28 million in funding. some employees moved to vacant positions and took lower ranking jobs. the cuts will not impact public safety, libraries or social services. >> 6:08. you know it's going to be nice when you walk out the door early morning in the winter and it feels like a summer day. meteorologist christina loren is here to tell us how nice it's going to be. >> it is going to be nice. we have dropped off by about 10 degrees over the past hour, just the past hour in san jose. we're in the mid-50s. right now, though t city by the bay, comfortable conditions in san francisco. 54 degrees, you see from the live picture a beautiful start. clear, no fog to report. we get that fog, the traditional pattern back. so this weekend staying nice and

mild and sunny which is good news if you want to make outdoor plans. 55 degrees in san francisco, 46 in oakland action we're at 55 in sunnyvale. good morning to you down there. and your winds are dropping off which is good news. a lot of people had to deal with gusty winds, so the hills, the mountains all night long at this point they are starting to decrease. and this is the calmest they have been for the past six or seven hours which is good news for the fire fighting efforts up in the napa area this morning. we'll continue to decrease those winds as we head throughout the day. the temperatures won't be as arm-of-warm as a result but still look at this. 70 degrees by noon. 64 degrees at the coast which means if you wanted to hit the marina today, beautiful conditions at noon. gorgeous for outdoor lunch plans. 68, great beach day tomorrow. we'll tell you which will be the armest. >> a great day for folks, all i have is a broken latter. 880 at 101, the northbound route had slowing.

at least the slowing cleared up. look at that. we had the stretch from about mckee we're seeing 53 up toward the 880 transition. now that's moving pretty nicely so. the early morning slowdown probably not a big deal because of the light volume. some schools are off this week as well. the south bay had the lighter friday flow. smooth drive at the limit from 238 to the bay bridge toll plaza. a live look further north at the toll plaza, a few cars waiting in line for the cash lanes. this is a slower build. metering lights probably closer to 7:00. we'll track it. back to you. >> 6:11. this may help, you can fast track, get even faster on the san mateo bridge. we'll show you why. >> we've learned the name of one marine killed in a helicopter collision in arizona. we'll have the details next.

♪

let me get that door for you... [ man ] i loved my first car... sometimes the door gets stuck... oh sure. ooh! [ man ] ...and then, i didn't. um... [ sighs ] [ man ] so, i got a car i can love a really, really long time. [ male announcer ] for the road ahead, the all-new subaru impreza®. ♪ experience love that lasts.

welcome back. the time is 6:13. new this morning, a california father speaking out saying his son was one of the marines killed in that deadly helicopter crash along the california/arizona border a. tragic scene down there. marla tellez is in the newsroom with new information. good morning. >> good morning. james everett is saying his 33-year-old son sergeant justin everett was one of the helicopter pilots who died in the crash wednesday night. everett said his son was a 10-year marine corps veteran who grew up in fresno. he served two tours in iraq. sergeant everett leaves a wife and two kids. investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the midair collision near yuma, arizona.

doesn't seem president obama's apology to afghanistan is making much of a difference. nine more people were killed this morning in anti-american protests following the accidental burning of the koran by u.s. troops. police firing warning shots as they try to control the crowds in kabul on the fourth day of demonstrations. >> now to an eerie look at the french photo journalist before the attack that killed him. you can see recommendi lafring just hours before he was killed. he died along with american journalist marie colvin. secretary of state hillary clinton is meeting in tunisia right now, calling for a cease-fire in syria. they say if president al assad does not surrender he can expect action from the world community. >> thank you. >> let's turn to the forecast now with meteorologist christina loren. you said the temperatures have been dropping? >> in some cities. it depends, where we're seeing the winds where it has been

warmer. we were at 64 degrees moments ago in san jose. about a half hour ago. at this point we've lost 10 degrees of warmth because we lost that wind. so, the temperature has fallen to 55. however, it is still mild out there. as a result the temperatures now in the mid-50s in many cities. will easily climb into the 70s again. and it's great news when it comes to the winds relaxing as we have firefighters battling a fire up in napa. winds now at 3 miles per hour and decreasing. future cast shows you through 6:00 to 10:00 the winds are going to calm down by noon we're talking about really no wind at all. especially at the surface. may be breezy through the higher elevations and mountain passes above 1,000 feet until about 3:00 p.m. high pressure, though, is moving to the east. it continues to weaken, break down and move. we're talking about a little cooler conditions, more of an onshore flow and the winds relaxing. so if you are sick of the wind, that's good news. 78 in san jose. 66 in fremont, 69 in oakland.

and 68 degrees down from the 70s in san francisco today. but still staying comfortable for outdoor activities. comfortable saturday and sunday as well. then monday and tuesday things change. we cool down, we get a few more clouds, then rain arrives, a few light showers wednesday into thursday next week. let's check your drive at 6:16. >> we have folks highway 4 which has slowing even on a friday in the westbound direction. slowing eastbound as well. now, both of those are worse because of an accident right now, it's in the fast lane so that's visible from both sides of the freeway likely. there is your slowing down below 20 miles per hour at the focus toward summersville. it's held up, there is light friday traffic, so that's even better to concord and walnut creek off the benicia bridge. good flow of traffic. dublin interchange, clear to 580.

580 not bad. 20 minutes with spots in the 40s and 50s. a pleasant drive through livermore and toward 580. a look out there toward hayward, westbound, an easy drive. across the golden gate bridge no problems from the north bay. a smooth flow as well. you can see the view of the traffic and the flow coming down, no problems. highway 37 down through san rafael into the city, no problems through the area. >> you mentioned the san mateo bridge. mr. road show report as fifth toll lane will be open on the bridge exclusively for fast track users. could be ready as early as next month if not sooner. apparently all that's needed is a barricade to allow toll collectors to cross lanes. >> a woman one of the victi of a pileup blamed on a drunk driver. it happened wednesday night north of king city. a total of three people died, 14

hurt. 42-year-old woman was driving under the influence and reaching for her cell phone when she lost control, careens into oncoming traffic. the first car she hit was carrying four people heading home from a funeral. three in the car died including maria ochocha. a memorial service i will be held for the man who helped shape the lives of hundreds of bay area athletes. tom martinez coached football, women's basketball and softball at the college of san mateo, winning 1400 games. his most famous athlete tom brady who considered martinez to be a mentor and a father figure. martinez died tuesday of a heart attack. tuesday's memorial service will be held at menlo park starting at 2:00. >> big loss there. coming up, a bay area school

district was looking at getting rid of kindergarten. now looking at the mother of big cuts. >> a live look outside, how nice it is in san francisco right now. nice temperatures, beautiful scene with the sun starting to creep above the horizon. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that c help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪

kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ >> welcome back everyone.

yes, look at that shot right there. that is just outstanding from alameda, andrew and gabriel in the control booth promised this would be breath taking. i'm having trouble breathing. this is nice. >> we need a crew team. can we hang on this. take it all in. that is beautiful. lived up to the billing. thank you. it is 6:22. >> could be a game changer for hundreds of santa clara students. administrators will meet to talk about toughening admission standards. south bay students and community college transfers who meet the minimum requirements are granted admission. university administration says cuts in state funding forcing it to be more restrictive about the number of students they admit. >> a controversial plan to eliminate kindergarten at a bay area school district no longer on the table. the fairfield unified district

considered canceling kindergarten next year. parents complained the district backed off. now it's looking to other money saving solutions by closing schools, eliminating sports and ending bus service. >> 6:23. supporters of a bay area bar making a last ditch effort to save it. lawyers for the gold dust lounge said the landlord duped the owners into signing an early termination clause in their lease. the suit accuses the owners of elder abuse. the lawyer says it will do nothing from stopping the bar from closing. the owners have until march 10 to move out. >> the fight in china over ipad has come home to the south bay. scott mcgrew joins us. this is turning into a big deal. >> it is. the company pro view which claims it still owns the ipad name in china filed suit in santa clara county court. apparently not afraid of apple's home court advantage if you will. apple says it bought the name

ipad from pro view free and clear but there is controversy as to whether that applies everywhere. here's the big deal. pro view wants the court to ban shipments of ipads out of china. ipads are made in china so they would be stuck there. apple held its shareholders meeting on thursdayment our cameras are not permitted but tim cook seen in earlier video hinted apple may finally pay a dividend once again. apple sitting on an enormous amount of money. shareholders would like their cut. sooner better than later in case the tax laws change. speaking of apple police in china have broken up a counterfeit ring selling iphone branded stoves. a couple ways to tell this is not an iphone. first of all, it's a stove. then there's the flash from your face when you try to answer it. this sunday one of my guests is the head of walmart labs helping the retailer compete better on

line. he is a serial entrepreneur, he sold a number of companies to google and amazon and twice had the opportunity to buy google. at a very low price and he didn't. >> i said what was the price tag? was it discussed? >> something like a million dollars or something. >> regrets there? >> that is the laugh of a man who didn't buy google at 1 million. actually he says he is glad because if he had run google it wouldn't have turned out the way it did. he sold companies for a quarter billion here and there, took that money and was one of the very first investors in facebook, so i think he's going to be okay. >> no kidding. he keeps working. taking this job with walmart. >> interesting guy. >> we'll look forward to that. thank you. >> plenty of reasons to laugh. >> all the way to the bank. still to come on "today in the bay," history being made at the gas pump, not the kind drivers happy to see. we'll have a live report.

>> looks like a drunken boat road led to a crash in alameda. we'll tell you why search crews will be back out on the water this morning. >> and temperatures in the 70s this weekend mean you'll want to get outdoors. take a look at this gorgeous sunrise over the bay area. shaping up to be another nice one. your full forecast in moments. >> highway 24 heading toward that bridge, 24 route is fine. once you get to the bay bridge you might a surprise. i'll let you know what's going on. ♪

[ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering.

>> reporter: i'm stephanie chuang live in alameda with the latest on a crash early this morning of a 40-foot boat onto shore. and the details on a possible missing boater. coming up. >> a major fire burning in napa this morning. it's already consumed dozens of acres. we'll have details coming up. >> reporter: high prices on the

road ahead. i'm bob redell. what is driving this ridiculous jump at the pump? that story coming up. >> a buv live look outside golden gate bridge. it's friday, february 24th, "today in the bay." >> good morning to you. thanks for joining us. it's 6:29 now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> good morning. i'm jon kelley. we check in with meteorologist christina loren. and by unanimous decision friday is voted our favorite day of the week. now we're getting that sweet weather. >> and the good news is you get to enjoy it on your days off if you have the weekend off. temperatures are going to stay on the mild side. we are losing that wind which is good news as well, especially for the fire fighting efforts. east-southeast wind, calming down as we continue through the morning hours. your temperatures are mild now.

we're headed to the 70s again. then the rain returns. we'll tell you when coming up. first, let's get you to work on a good note with mike. >> we are on a much acclaimed friday morning commute but we're looking at the bay bridge, metering lights were turned on and there is a backup. you see them moving, a lighter flow of traffic but it's getting back to the 880 overcrossing. don't be caught by surprise. you have to wait about five minutes to get on the span. we'll look to the south bay. 280 holding up. pretty standard for a friday. i'll give you a wider look at the commute. >> this morning the coast guard is sorting out what turned into a bizarre story. there was a report of a missing person in the water. stephanie chuang is live now in alameda where fire and rescue are still on the scene. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jon. you called it, a bizarre story.

fire and police left the scene. the coast guard is still in the water. you can see a 40-foot power boat crashed onto the shore this morning. there was a high rate of speed involved. it's almost upside down. there was a woman in her late 20s on board when police got here. luckily she was not injured but she was drunk and uncooperative. she claimed that a second woman was on board with her. at first saying she left on a row boat, then left on foot. despite her condition and the inconsistency of her story authorities decided to take every precaution. >> we searched for at least two hours with all of those resources. the coast guard said they would continue to search until daybreak and the police department is continuing to search the surface streets if the individual is walking around or if there is an individual. >> reporter: the woman was found on board was arrested.

she is at the police department. police are trying to figure out her identification. she refused to tell them who she was. they are trying to figure out who owns this boat. meantime t the officers' search of nearby streets came up unsuccessful so far. oakland fire did come out and to clear a hazmat boom to make sure no fluids like your leak-out in the water. stephanie chuang live in alameda, "today in the bay." >> efforts to extinguish a wild fire will take to the air. the soda fire scorched 40 acres. strong winds and warm temperatures helped the flames spread, briefly threatening about three homes. cal fire says the fire was started at a vineyard where workers were burning old vines. >> an escape control burn got away from the vineyard workers at one of the vineyards. the 20-mile-an-hour winds at the

top of the ridge where they were doing their burn. it blew hot embers into the wild land. >> cal fire is checking to make sure there was a burn permit. >> two people dead in the east bay after a violent collision. it happened around 11:30 last night on northbound 880, south of hesperian. two people were killed after colliding. it's hard to make out the models. all northbound laned were blocked but this morning all are reopened. >> 6:34. oakland police investigating whether the murder of an elderly man is linked to robberies. joseph robertson was found dead in his home thursday morning. neighbors say his house was being worked on which various handy men and say they have seen a rash of burglaries in the

neighborhood. >> nuts running around kicking in doors. they ring your door bells, you don't answer, they will kick in your door. just got to find a way of stopping them. >> police are not saying if that person is a suspect. >> it is 6:34. investigators made another gruesome discovery in the search for victims of the killers. recovering more human remains where the two murder victims were found. death row inmate wesley shermantine provided maps of several bone yards. shermantine's deceased partner have been linked to a 15-year murdering spree that started in 1985. search teams uncovered 1,000 bone pieces from a well just last week.

>> most feeling the pain at the pump. relief isn't coming soon. bob redell is live with more. >> reporter: good morning. you can see we're here at this arco in san jose. $4.01 for a gallon of gas. i hate to say it, that's a bargain. this is one of the cheapest places in the south bay to buy gas. it's going up even further. this is the earliest time of the year ever we've seen prices this high in the state of california. let's go to a traf graphic we put together. overnight averages courtesy of aaa. san jose and oakland averaging around $4.20, $4.19. san francisco is $4.26. this is the number to pay attention to. those prices have jumped about 25 sents over laus the past

week. what's going on here, well, one thing is specific to california. something in washington state, a bp oil refinery caught fire last week. as a result bp is having to buy from refineries down here, that's sucking supply. you're going to see a jump in the price. we have the price of ail that's up. speculators are driving that. we've got an improving economy. and more importantly the big x factor is concern over iran and their quest to develop a look lar weapon. that is the question work, what happen there is, how much higher at the pump go. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> we found some places in the bay area that are still selling gas under $4 a gallon. in santa clara, arco selling for

$3.94 a gallon. in martinez at the 5 star it's 3 cents less. $3.99 at the arco in redwood city and the chevron at california and steiner in san francisco as well. it's hard to believe in. >> what we can tell you always a bargain, the spectacular weather. >> tell us about a beautiful day. >> it makes it very easy to stay put. we don't have to drive anywhere this weekend to enjoy gorgeous conditions. let's start with that live picture. almaden valley south, just gorgeous. you can see really hardly ripples out on the water indicative of the winds, all relaxing now. calm on the bay, a little choppy yesterday. that's great for coaters who want to hit the marina. 55 in san jose.

good morning to you. 46 in oakland and temperatures are going to be a little cooler today. i'd say by about 3:00 p.m. we'll have 5 to 8 degrees cooler than yesterday. a few showers in that seven-day forecast. i'll get to the next report but today works out like this. if you want to make outdoor lunch plans, pretty ideal across the bay area. you'll get sick 6 at noon by the way. and cooler at the coast, 64 degrees but hey, still temperatures about 5 to 10 degrees above our seasonal averages. we might touch on a couple of records. we cool off for the weekend. help you get outdoors to enjoy it. first i'm going to send it back to mike. >> look outside you guys and we'll get a live look at 880 past the coliseum. traffic flow is relatively light there. you see northbound with the taillights and southbound with the headlights. northbound folks are headed to the bay bridge.

usually for a friday the bay bridge lights are turned on early and we see a steady backup in all of the cash lanes. but the fast track lanes they are starting to adjust. there is now some sort of traffic on the incline. so far in lanes on the incline. i'll track this, back out to the maps now. we're looking at also the accident we hit highway 4 at somersville. all lanes cleared from the accident westbound in the community direction we saw the slowing, everybody jumps on after hill crest. 680 and 24, further south there is 580 and the slowing. it's focusing on vasco road west. a new accident further north, may be an issue. i'll let you know. it's off on the solder. back to you guys. >> still to come on "today in

the bay," we'll lot soaring airfares next 18 live report. anyone who grows things for a living will tell ya...

a plant is only as good as the soil you put it in. look, both these potted plants got the same sun. same water. only difference? this. miracle-gro potting mix. rich organic ingredients with miracle-gro plant food mixed right in. it even feeds plants for six straight months. want this result? gotta start with this soil. miracle-gro potting mix. success starts with the soil.

>> at the risk of bumming you out we're showing you the big jump in gas prices all morning long. we can tell you it's not just driving up gas prices on the road. it's going to cast you more to fly. tracie potts live in washington to show us the jump in airfares. >> reporter: if you are

traveling out of sfo any time soon you'll probably going to see ticket prices going up. we were looking this morning at the major airlines that serve the airport, american, delta, jetblue, all of them up. united, continental, southwest, all a result of higher fuel prices we're seeing at the pump. the airlines are also seeing in terms of jet fuel. plus, they say regulations have a hand in what you're paying. in the u.s., especially with the low cast airlines, they now have to disclose those fees up front. in europe they have to pay carbon emissions to cover carbon emissions so that is all contributing to gas prices or your airline tickets and the price. this is the fourth fare hike t ones this week, that we have seen this year. we saw nine last year, four so far this year. but you know, sometimes the airlines try it, and it doesn't work, last time they tried 22 times, only nine times did those

price hikes stick. analysts say a lot of people are struggling and if the prices are too high they won't buy the tickets. >> all right. rough out there. >> no kidding. while you might feel like you're paying to put jet fuel in your car, we're going to have a live report on rising prices. >> steve jobs was day inor 1 this day in 1955. what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today.

beth! hi! looking good. you've lost some weight. thanks. you noticed. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm! [ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter.

♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] not everything powerful has to guzzle fuel. the 2012 e-class bluetec from mercedes-benz. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. >> welcome back. gorgeous day on tap for us. >> already out there. let's show you. you have to go to work today, it's going to be really comfortable out there. and you'll want to get out and enjoy, the good news it will hold up for the weekend. but take a look at this beautiful shot at lake almaden

valley. gorgeous this morning. and something you will notice, not as choppy on the water across the bay area as the winds have really calmed down over the past few hours. they will continue to do so as we head throughout the mid morning. 56 in san francisco. at 44 degrees in fairfield and 51 degrees in concord. so it's relatively mild out there. as we head throughout the afternoon, temperatures warmer than average again. calm winds at this point from santa rosa, san francisco, even san mateo and half moon bay. however, we still have sustained wind speed at 3 miles per hour, novato and napa. that will continue to be the case. note great news for firefighters trying to battle the fire in the napa area. but the good news is when it comes to that situation, we'll continue to drop off and the wind speeds through 11:00 a.m. you can see that here. so, it all works like this. high pressure takes a hike. drifts to the east enough for us to cool down to an on shore flow. we're talking about the low 70s inland.

the 60s, 77 degrees in almaden valley. 78 in san jose. you can't beat. that 73 in concord and 72 in santa rosa. i keep pointing out yeah, we have about a month of winter left. this is unusual. breaking records all week long. we might be breaking a few today in places like san jose. 76 inland as we head through the weekend, we get a few more clouds late sunday into monday. cool down as on shore flow strengthens. tuesday, wednesday, thursday, a series of systems will pass to the north. a few stray showers up in the north bay. a chance slight, we need the rain. we'll track that. let's check the drive. what are you tracking? >> i was tracking some folks working on the road. being friday, everybody wants to leave as quickly as they can. we're looking at northbound 101, embarcadero road. i was told this construction was until further notice. they gave me notice the crew has cleared. a splooth drive up the lower bay shore up into san francisco. 101 not experiencing slowing

through san mateo into the city by the bay. 280, a blip here both directions from the extension down to the 101 interchange. in the city this weekend, the line is experiencing the first of six weekends for construction, so keep that in mind. you have to reroute. bus, bridges and traffic flow issues between ocean beach and church. to approach on the east bay to the city, the bay bridge, we have a smooth drive slowing around golden gate as well as up the incline, the metering lights are on and the incident on the upper deck sounds like it's cleared from the incline. i guess that's better news. the south bay moves smoothly. slowing for northbound 101 and 87. not a big deal for the san jose commute. >> thank you so much. >> 6:50. gas prices we've been talking about all morning rising again and there is no end in sight. here in the bay area it's topping $4 a gallon. bob redell is live with why and more on why it might not be the end of.

good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning. you want to see me blow through some money real quick? check this out. rob? stop. we just burned through $20 in gas. that's how high -- look how expensive a gallon of gas is. here at this shell station, averaging $4.21 a gallon. that is roughly the average here in san jose. if you look at what aaa has been posting overnight. the average is actually $4.20 e oakland $4.19, san francisco around 4.26. dts in the past week gas prices on average jumped 25 cents per gallon, you keep in mind we're not in the summer driving season yet. it's still february, this is the earliest time of the year california has ever seen these kinds of prices. we've got a couple of things going on. one, the oil prices, the price of a barrel of oil is up because of speculators, you've got the

improving economy and you've got concerns over what's going on in iran. we know that country is trying to -- is on a quest for a nuclear weapon and that's causing a lot of tension in the middle east. what happens there could determine the future of how high the prices are going to go. bob redell, "today in the bay." >> the coast guard is on scene trying to sort out what happened after a boat was found crashed up on rocks. stephanie chuang is live in alameda with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jon. ten minutes ago the coast guard sent its helicopter back up in the air. that was circling. all morning the boats have been in the water patrolling to find maybe a missing boater. here is the boat that crashed on the racks this morning. you can see it is almost upside down completely here. police when they got here found a woman in her late 20s or so on board, she was uninjured. they did help her onto land but they say she was drunk,

uncooperative, didn't have i.d. and wouldn't provide any. she gave changing stories to investigators. saying there was a second woman on board with her who left on a row boat. then she said that she left on foot here. police aren't sure if there is a missing woman but they are taking every precaution. the woman on board was arrested. she is at alameda police department why they try to figure out her identification. they secured a boom to make sure no motor fluids leaked into the water so that is the latest from alameda. stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." >> the domestic abuse trial of san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi scheduled to start. the judge will be assigned first and then a defense motion to try to exclude key evidence. it allegedly contains comments from mirkarimi's wife describing how her husband bruised her arm and also allegations of previous abuse. his attorneys say the video may

have been part of a calculated effort by lopez, his wife, to create evidence for a possible child custody case. >> 6:53. water drops are expected to resume in napa county to fight a huge wild fire that has consumed about 40 acres. soda fire is 50% contained. it was sparked yesterday when a controlled burn at a vineyard got out of control. cal fire is trying to determine if the vineyard had a permit. three homes were threatened but so far no structures have been damaged. >> relief in a sunnyvale neighborhood after very tense hours followed a destructive house fire. there is an update to breaking news we brought you yesterday. firefighters got to the two-alarm blaze and got it under control quickly but had to wait hours before going inside where a family of four resides because of concerns that the house could collapse. neighbors were nervous, said they didn't know if the family was in the house or out of town. turns out good news, they were gone. relief all around.

the fire now does still remain under investigation. >> 6:54. if you have a flight to catch, snow in chicago could actually slow you down. marla tellez in the newsroom. >> good morning. you can call it the snowball effect. chicago is getting hit by a strong winter storm right now. you can see here what drivers are up against and flyers, well all airlines out of chicago-o'hare are reporting major delays and cancellations. already more than 150 flights have been canceled including four flights to sfo. and flights are delayed 15 and 16 minutes so our advice to you of course is call ahead before you head to the airport today. >> a grim outlook for the dutch prince who was severely injured in an avalanche that happened in austria. johan suffered massive brain damage and has been in a coma ever since. this morning doctors are saying

he may never regain consciousness. the 43-year-old prince is the second son of the netherlands queen. now an update to the breaking news yesterday of the helicopter crash that killed seven marines. james everett tells the fresno bee his 33-year-old son sergeant justin everett was one of the helicopter pilots who died wednesday night. everett says his son was a 10-year marine corps veteran. investigators are trying to figure out what caused the midair collision that happened near yuma, arizona. >> thank you very much. 6:56 now. the "today" show is next. ann curry shows us what they are working on. >> good morning. coming up on friday morning here on "today" a surprising end to the trial of a man accused of killing his wife on their honeymoon. why did a judge suddenly dismiss this case on thursday? we'll talk to the former attorney general who pushed to bring it to trial. also ahead this morning a strong

storm moving through the northern half of the country. heavy wet snow is expected from iowa to michigan, and into parts of the northeast. so al will tell us what we can expect on that. also, how a popular website you know and trust being used to sell fake goods. we'll investigate the new way that counterfeiters are targeting your money. and also, will sacha baron cohen's alter ego the dictator show up as the oscars? we'll ask him when he joins us coming up when we return on a friday, here on "today." >> thanks, ann. 6:56. gerard butler sin rehab and a report says that a surfing accident could be a factor. tmz reports that butler will leave the betty ford center today. a source tells tmz he started taking painkillers during the filming back in 2006 and the problem got worse after he nearly drowned last december while shooting another film.

>> does anybody in the bay area where the talent to make it on a national show? they could find out. america's got talent shooting a live audition at the bill graham civic auditorium in san francisco today and tomorrow. hopefuls hope to avoid getting the red x from the judges. the new season of "america's got talent" will air starting this spring. >> jeremy lin says he's leaving with a learning experience. the miami heat trounced the knickses. he finished with eight points and the same number of turnovers. nba now take as break for the all-star game. lin will play 18 game featuring rising stars tonight in orlando. >> tgif. that means scott mcgrew has gadg gadgets. >> i planned to never ever show

you another dock or ipad again. this was so clever i think i earned an exception from a company i have a hard time pronouncing. it's a screen that canopy vot either way and you can watch television on it. yes, i will admit that is on pbs one of my favorites. but we have nbc programming as well. the cool thing about it, it's got specially built speakers with really big sub-woofers which means you can watch television on it and it sounds good. this is "saturday night live" here to make up for the fact that i showed that pbs show on the video. katy perry on "saturday night live." it allows you to watch television in a way that's much more familiar and with great sound. >> let's get to the forecast

now. >> mild just about everywhere. it's cold out there now but look at this gorgeous shot. sun rising over the bay area, 56 in livermore, 55 in san jose, headed toward the 70s, hope you have a great weekend. mike has a serious situation. >> we're going to show the map. we have a sigalert westbound 580, a pedestrian was hit on the freeway so we're still gathering information on that. but we have a backup now. >> thank you for joining us as well. have a great friday. and weekend as well. good morning. a taste of winter. strong storms have been moving through the northern half of the country. heavy, wet snow. we're live in the center of it all.