dds, the drought, the deficit. i'm talking about the drought, the deficit, as we head throughout the next couple days. we have a lot of rain on the way. we're talking about the potential for maybe four inches additional inches up in santa rosa. so, yeah, i think this is really good news when it comes to our summer month replenishment. we'll be okay when it comes to the water supply. as we head throughout the morning we'll continue to see these showers. right now ramping up in the east bay. overall give yourself plenty of extra time to reach your destination safely. we'll see more showers as we head throughout the day. they will intensify. i'll tell you when in your neighborhood coming up. first it is 5:00, straight up. let's check your drive with mike. >> i see most of the green activity right now on the east bay from your maps but over on the peninsula, an accident happened just as the rain was coming tle ining through, south around candlestick. reports of at least one car over on its roof. sounds like a solo car accident.

we've seen a number of those in the last hour. slick roads could play a factor in that. we're also watching this southbound 280 at alemany boulevard, reports of standing water and flooding there. we see slowing southbound 280 heading into daily city. also weather related in oakland, christie smith is answering the age-old question, if a tree falls and christie smith is there, what's the latest? good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. that is a good question. i can tell you we have good news to report and that is that one lane is back open on the on-ramp to eastbound 580 here at coolidge avenue and herald in oakland. after about 2:50 this morning, the rain has just been non-stop here in oakland and a 70-foot acacia tree just completely toppled over and blocked both lanes of the on-ramp. when we got here the chp was here, had a cruiser parked here just to make sure that no one tried to get by. of course we did see someone try

to do that. they had to back right up. but since then what's happened is that caltrans has brought out just about everyone they've got working overnight here in oakland on this stretch of the freeway. they got a six-man crew out here. they brought out chainsaws and a wood chipper and they made quick work of this tree so that at least they've got the big part of it pretty much down to one lane and they're running the rest of the parks through the wood chipper and they're telling me that they hope to have the entire ramp back open in about the next 20 or 30 minutes. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." all lanes open again on 101 after a deadly accident on the peninsula overnight. at least one car hit and killed a man near 3rd avenue in san mateo. this all happened around 12:30 this morning. all southbound lanes of 101 were closed for about an hour there. as the highway patrol investigated. all lanes are back open. no other injuries reported. it is 5:02 right now. a warning this morning for

people with smartphones. the oakland police department says there were two separate iphone robberies yesterday. one of them at gunpoint. police are urging people to be alert when using the phones in public. there's also a campaign getting under way on san francisco's muni system to warn riders of the same crime trend. a car port fire in oakland appears to have started accidentally. this is an update to breaking news we brought you yesterday. investigators say the cause is still under investigation. they do not think the fire was intentional. six cars were destroyed and at least two apartments damaged. nobody was injured but about a dozen people did have to get out of their house. 5:03. a long-time member of the rock band the doobie brothers has died. drummer died peacefully in his home in wyoming monday after a battle with cancer. friends say he was a fighter and will be greatly missed. he began playing drums at the age of 12 and joined the doobie brothers in 1971 where he became the second drummer. he was 65 years old. 5:03.

caltrain soon could be getting a jolt -- literally. lawmakers want to electrify the tracks as part of the high-speed rail project. "today in the bay's" stephanie trong joins us now with this proposal. >> reporter: good morning. this high-speed rail plan partly banking on electrifying existing caltrain tracks. in the last 24 hours a san mateo assemblyman made a public push for this very idea, hill saying that the electification of caltrain could be merged with the high-speed rail using a two-track blended system. the expected project completion date would be 2019 and cost $1.5 billion but the plan would be to combine some high-speed rail money with local funds to pay that price tag. some commuters say anything to help public transit in this state is vital. >> i think for people to see their families, for people to get to work, definitely for business, i think ultimately, whatever the price tag is will help the economy far more than

it will ever cost us. >> but that cost is great for the bullet train, high-speed rail project. so far estimated at $98 billion. the head of the bullet train project last night didn't give too many specifics when he spoke to hundreds in mountain view but did talk about plans to break down the 50-mile line into much smaller segments so that crews may finish them faster and perhaps decrease the cost and also bring up completion date for full service from san francisco down to l.a. and of course back. the expected completion date for that right now is 2034. live in san jose, stephanie trang, "today in the bay." 5:05 right now. oakland police have cracked what they pleefb to be their oldest cold case ever using dna evidence. bay area news group reports the dna match led to murt charges against a 63-year-old exconvict in the sexual molestation and beating death of an oakland girl in 1974. police arrested curtis tucker

thursday. voters in contra costa county may have to pay a significant price to keep and keep six firestations open. last night the county's fire chief told supervisors voters must pass a $90 annual parcel tax or risk losing vital services. the chief says the higher tax is needed to keep 63 firefighters from losing their jobs. for the record no tax has yet been put on the november ballot. the city of sunol will see a cash infusion thanks to a pile of rocks. the owner of the quarry will pay the city $50,000 a year to dig in the area. the money mitigates the environmental impact of the quarry and will be used for sunol community improvements. the rain forecast showing it is just going to be coming for a lot of days. the silver lining, it is going to help with the potential drought stuff. >> yeah. build an arc. get started on that. we've got a lot of rain on the way. today looks like one of the

lighter days in terms of what we are expecting. friday morning, let me just warn you right now, it is looking like a complete mess. right in time for the morning drive. tomorrow we'll get a little bit of a break. today not getting much of a break but at least showers are light and winds have relaxed a touch. we'll get to your wind gust in just a minute. just wanted to show you the overall trend right now. showers are picking up a little bit. they're also trending to the south. in the east bay we have the heaviest rainfall right now. san ramon, light rainfall for. you oakland, you're getting a little bit of a break but more rain is on the way in the next 15 or 20 minutes. give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination. more rain developing as we head throughout the morning. it all works out like this -- wind gusts have come down from the 30-mile-per-hour range. we're now in the 20-mile-per-hour, 15-mile-per-hour range but you could still get caught off-guard by a gust over open water bridges or higher elevations where we lack that friction. take it easy in your

high-profile vehicles because roadways are slick. throughout the day today we will get some opportunities to get outdoors. i'm going to time those systems out for you to a tee and tell when you you can get those outdoor activities taken care of today. you'll get a couple more opportunities tomorrow. first, let's get you out the front door. you want to leave early because you have to lower those speeds because of those conditions christina was talking about. looking here to coolidge avenue, on-ramp to eastbound 580, one lane is open. the tree's still down. they're still chipping it up there. they hope to have it completely cleared in the next 20 minutes or so. if you want to stay clear of all that activity, use the fruitvale on-ramp to eastbound 580. the approach heading through oakland and the freeways, moving through smoothly. the bay bridge approach from the north, westbound 80, we have a problem still at buchanan. right here is the live shot past the coliseum. the camera shakes because of the gusty winds we're talking about.

that's the reason for the high wind advisory for the bay bridge and richmond-san rafael bridge. glowing lights because of the rain still going on, slick conditions. oakland's getting a break but it is coming again and hitting bay area all morning. just be careful an again lower those speeds, allow a little extra time. turning to reality, a bay area man all part of nbc's newest show. >> each of these designer will try to sell their design. >> 33-year-old ronnie is one of the designers competing for that multi multi-million dollar prize. he grew up in the philippines, then moved to the bay area to attend the academy of art in san francisco. >> sat there looking through all the colleges in the u.s. i thought about going to italy as well. but you know? the program here kind of challenged me and i fell in love with it so i kind of stuck here.

>> good luck to ronnie on that. the winner of "fashion star" will have their collection launched at macy's, h & m and saks fifth avenue. the palace of fine arts in san francisco will hold its 24th annual pie day festivities today. the celebration will kick off with a pi parade and pie eating contest. it is a number you get when you divide the circumference of a circle by its diameter. but i didn't need to tell you that. >> exactly. i like all that fancy math stuff but i really like the pie part. coconut cream. >> festivities run from 1:00 to 3:30 in the afternoon. 5:10 right now. snow in the sierra. we'll tell you how much coming up. the bay area city consider one of the tops when it comes to st. patrick's day celebrations. plus, a great day on wall

street for investors. a look at if it will continue today. that's coming up in a live report. and for the latest news, traf weher, fin us on facebook at nbc bay area. hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) there's no doubt in my mind that komen's funding

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now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first on the side. from honey nut cheerios to cinnamon toast crunch to lucky charms, get more whole grain than any other ingredient... without question. just look for the white check. beautiful shot outside right now. look at that, san francisco, feels like we're looking at some kind of movie there. gotham city! the rain, the mist, the darkness. christina loren is going to tell us about a lot of rain coming up. 5:13. the sierra is getting buried again under more heavy snow. right now it is still coming down. good news for skiers who spent most of the winter fairly dry. a little later in the newscast we'll actually get a report from the summit.

but make sure to take those chains if you're headed up and some patience, i would imagine. >> yeah. you know what, the snow pack right now is very weak below all this new snow. we are still not out of the woods when it comes to potential for avalanches in the back country in tahoe. we're going to keep watching that for you. but they're basically going to double, if not triple, their snow pack that they already have as we head through the next five days. we've got a lot of moisture on the way. the moisture that we've been lacking you a winter long arriving just in time for the final full week of winter. as you can see, stockton getting hit pretty hard. i want to point out as well for agriculture interests out there, we could see another three before all is said and done. temperatures will drop into the 40s. talking about your daytime highs in the 40s. so if we do see freezing conditions, best chance would be tuesday, into wednesday. you need to keep that in mind especially up in wine country. we'll watch that closely for you. we've got a pretty good batch of rain developing just offshore. all these showers will moveon shore as we head through the next couple of hours. we have a lot of rain to get

through today. then we'll get a little bit after break as we head through tonight. pretty good looking cell just developed over the city of san francisco. can you see that yellow, little orange embedded with the green. light to moderate rain will make your highways nice and slick this morning. the jet stream just transporting these systems one after the other into the bay area. it all works out like this. we stop the clock on your future cast at about 6:00 p.m. tonight. still getting those light showers but we'll get a little bit of a break as we head through tomorrow morning. showers will be very light and a lot of this is actually going to be precipitation that evaporates before it hits the surface. tomorrow morning is going to be your best dry-up of the week. moderate to heavy rain right in the heart of your morning drive. look at your seven-day. by monday, shroudy conditions, a little bit of shower activity early. then we'll clear out. temperatures only 55 monday. overnight lows could fall into the 30s and upper 20s.

we are watching for a freeze. we're going to continue to track these showers for you. talk more about friday and sierra nevada coming up. when christina uses that rain icon, i use these -- the accident scene. it is going to change again because this is the same area where christina saw that cell come through on her radar. accident on southbound 101 just off the skyway. flooding reported for 280 southbound. also in the area, an accident southbound 101 around candlestick. car overturned on its roof. we do have some slowing, maybe a traffic break. off-ramp at candlestick is closed. slowing just south of 280. but from there down to the peninsula, things are moving nicely. we'll catch up with the golden gate bridge because the rain is making things a little more difficult. live look will show you what else is going on. there's the san mateo bridge going westbound across the bay. camera shakes because of the wind advisory for the bay bridge, richmond bridge but hold on tight for the high-rise for

92 as well. another live shot in san jose. by comparison with san mateo bridge and north, the south bay looks a little drier. we do have a little sprinkles and mist going on. up in the bay area, you'll get hit with those slick roads. to wall street now, investors looking to keep the rally going to push the dow over 13,000 yesterday. for that and the rest of your news before the bell, we go live to cnbc world headquarters. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the futures are slightly higher at this moment after yesterday's rally. and that was touched off first by the fed which kept interest rates on hold as expected. then jpmorgan got things going whether it announced it passed the fed's stress test and will boost its dividends and buying back stock. that forced the fed to release the test results for all 19 banks two days early. we'll have more on that shortly. meantime, we get data this morning on import prices.

dow jumped 217 points closing back above the 13,000 level. nasdaq gaining six, its first close above 3,000 in 12 years. meantime, back to the fed. it is saying 15 banks passed its stress test which gauged their ability to weather a severe financial crisis. scenarios included 13% unemployment and a 50% drop in the stock market. aside from jpmorgan, american express, wells fargo and bb and t are among banks hiking shareholder dividends. four banks failed the fed's criteria -- citigroup, medlife, sun trust. the fed says they can dispute those results. airfares are expected to continue rising this summer. lay the blame on jet fuel prices. fares are 4% higher than on new year's day. fuel makes up 35% of an airline's operating cost. last year they paid an average of $3 a gallon, the highest in decades. last week jet fuel was $3.20 a gallon. airlines paid $50 billion for fuel last year and raised fares

nine times, largely to offset those costs. back over to you. >> all right, thank you very much. 5:18 right now. state and local lawmakers are fighting to save shelter animals. they rallied in the east bay in sacramento yesterday to save haden's law. it requires animal shelters keep stray or abandoned animals for at least four to six days before putting them down. governor jerry brown wrants to shorten that to just three days to save the state money that reimburses the shelters. animal rights groups say it would not actually save any money because governor schwarzenegger suspended those payments three years ago. you won't have to go far if you plan to get your irish on this weekend. just head over to one of the top st. patrick's day destinations in the u.s. san francisco named one of the top ten picks because of its bevy of st. patrick's day celebrations. there is a parade on saturday as well as an irish festival and i'm guessing a lot of green beer. here's a look at list from orbitz. chicago came in number one. they die the river green there.

tough act to follow. chicago followed by new york, savannah, georgia is third. four, washington, d.c. five on the list is boston. san francisco checks in number six. >> on the 17th, even you, jon o'kelly. >> i can't do an irish accent. coming up, a local state park that appears to be spared from some of the state budget cuts. plus, you'll soon have to pay more to visit one of the bay area's most popular landmarks. and a bizarre new way to get your films digitally. we'll look at the program coming out of walmart. coming up. [ male announcer ] we asked real people if they'd help us with an experiment for febreze fabric refresher; they agreed. [ experimenter 1 ] relax, take some nice deep breaths. [ experimenter 2 ] what do you smell? lilac. clean. there's something that's really fresh. a little bit beach-y. like children's blankets. smells like home.

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welcome back, everybody. that's a look at the 880 near the coliseum. drive safely, the roads are slick. an announcement will come today that castle rock state park will receive a $250,000 donation from a local non-profit group. it is enough money to keep the park open for another year. the deal will also open 1,300 acres of park land that's been closed to the public for more than a decade. last year governor brown announced the closure of 70 state parks, including castle rock, due to budget cuts. it will soon cost you a little more to visit alcatraz. the national park service will bump rates for ferry tickets next month. adults will pay $28. it is actually a $2 increase. children will pay $17. the park service says the increase will cover the rising cost of running those ferries. increase takes effect on april 18th. 5:23 right now. walmart has launched a new program to turn your dvds into

something you can watch any time. scott mcgrew, not particularly impressed. >> it is a strange one, jon. walmart's motivation here is it wants to keep selling dvds at a time when fewer people are using dvds. 40% of dvds sold are sold at walmart. so the idea called disk-to-digital works like this. you take the dvd you already own to walmart and for $5 a movie, the clerk there takes note of those movies and authorizes the streaming of those movies to various digital devices using silicon valley's voodoo, a company that walmart bought recently. now the company says you can watch it on your laptop or xbox. of course, most laptops and xboxes already play dvds in the first places. can you watch it on your ipad but only if it is connected to a network. one of the big dangers of high-tech companies is losing your true believers, those from the early days back when your company was more about changing the world than making money. this morning a former google

employee posted his resignation letter to the internet saying the google everybody talks about where employees are encouraged to take 20% of their time to work on their own projects, that kind of thing, no longer exists. instead he said it is focused on making money and catching up to facebook. the former employee writes, "the google i was passionate about was a technology company that empowered its employees to innovate. the google i left was an advertising company with a single-minded corporate mandated focus." now jeremy mcguire letter it is not but it is resonating among employees this morning. and that video that got so much play on youtube has started a debate in africa about how america and the rest of the world can help. al jazeera has started a special page, including comments for people in uganda about what should be done with the leader of of the lord eresistance. the children's soldiers would be the ones probably fighting

against american soldiers were it to come to that. laura. 5:25 right now. despite recent complaints from neighbors, san francisco's outside lands music festival will be back for another year. organizers say the fifth annual event will take place august 10th through the 12th at golden gate park. limited amount of tickets will go on sale on friday. lineup has not been announced yet but people living near the park have complained that that event generates traffic and noise. according to a recent study, it also generated more than $60 million for san francisco's economy last year. 5:26 right now. still to come on "today in the bay," an update on efforts to move a downed tree from an on-ramp in the east bay. in a live report. oakland police investigating an officer-involved shooting this morning. the latest details are coming up. and we're tracking showers on the radar as we speak. some heavy. we'll pinpoint those for you and beware, the identifis of march.

tomorrow, more heavy rain. beware of the rain and wind affecting your drive. 880 moving smoothly through the south bay but a tree down in crossd anegg across th bay. we'll tell you the latest coming up. ♪ [ 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

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good morning. i'm christie smith live in oakland where a tree has fallen across a freeway on-ramp and caltrans is a little bit behind in cleaning it up. i'll tell you why coming up in a live report. a bus crash kills almost two dozen children, plus a couple more earthquakes hit japan. i'm marla tellez with the latest overnight developments coming up. a faster timeline, cheaper price tag and the electification of caltrain. all part of the latest update from the head of the california high-speed rail. those details are coming up. a live look outside. the rain is coming down. it is wednesday, march 14th.

this is today in the bay. good morning and thanks so much for joining us. it is almost 5:30. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm jon kelley. we check in with christina loren has a check on your weather today. >> the doppler is lit up this morning. it is not just green coming down like we had yesterday. we have a lot more yellows an orange as moderate rainfall. make sure you give yourself plenty of time. we already have ponding and puddles out there on the road. this will just add to the aftermath you have to get through this morning. we'll continue to track these showers and let you know when you can get outside today. 5:30 straight up. let's check your drive with mike. talking about the puddles, the ponding, in the north bay flooding is reported. a car is floating -- it is kind of cool but not if you're that car. we have three of them in fact reported stuck in the water.

they're not floating but it was enough water to stall those engines out. sigalert for highway 12 at fremont drive. also in the area we are near orchard avenue. the road that's flood -- called dry creek road. don't believe the label db it is flooded there as well. more flooding closer to s francisco. on the east bay, our christie smith is following another one of those suspects when rain happens, we have a tree down. caused by saturated soil and clean-up that was supposed to be clear is not either. what's going on? >> reporter: good morning to you. they are working awfully hard out here but they say they had hoped to have this tree entirely removed by now. that's what they said a little earlier. i went to check on what's going on and they're saying that it's so wet out here that this tree that's fallen, they're trying to put it through a wood chipper but it's so wet, the tree, that it actually clogs the wood chipper up so that delayed them maybe 20 minutes or so. they hope to have it cleared out as soon as they can.

what happened here, about 2:50 this morning, a big tree about 70 feet tall fell right over and blocked the freeway on-ramp. this is the eastbound 580 at coolidge avenue and herald here in oakland. since then chp has been out here blocking it to make sure drivers can't get on but the crew has been out here, a six-man team, working awfully hard trying to get this tree out of here. they do have one lane back open and they're telling me that they hope to have the rest of this tree cleared out of here maybe in the next 15 minutes or so. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." 5:32 right now. highway patrol is investigating a deadly highway accident on the peninsula overnight. one, possibly two cars struck and killed a man on n1eaear 3rd avenue in san mateo around 12:30 this morning. highway patrol shut down you a saubd lanes while they waited for the coroner to arrive. all lanes are now open. no other injuries were reported. in oakland, police right now are investigating an

officer-involved shooting. it all started with a confrontation between a man and an officer who was armed. the officer obviously was armed, the man was also armed. just before 9:00 last night at 90th and cherry street, officers shot the man. he was taken to a hospital and is right now listed in stable condition. nop officers were hurt. a school ski trip ends in tragedy for dozens of young students in switzerland. "today in the bay's" marla tellez is in our newsroom with the latest developments. >> reporter: heartbreaking. that bus crash killed 28 people. 22 of the dead are 12-year-old belgian students. six others their parents. rescuers describe the crash site in switzerland, "a scene like war." officials say in all 52 people were on-board when it slammed into a tunnel wall. 24 other students are in the hospital this morning. group was returning from a school ski trip. the cause is under investigation. now to japan where a tum

ear couple earthquakes have hit. the first 6.8 malmagnitugnitude. it was a shallow quake and happened 175 miles off the coast. no immediate reports of damage and an initial tsunami advisory has been lifted. the second quake, a 6.1, was reported just minutes ago. this one closer to rtokyo. again no reports of damage or injuries there. defense secretary leon panetta arrived in afghanistan today. the trip was planned even before a u.s. soldier went on that shooting rampage killing 16 afghan civilians. today panetta is meeting with president hamid karzai. meanwhile the people in kandahar where the shooting happened are threatening repercussions if the suspect is not executed. now that 38-year-old staff sergeant still has not been named and he remains in military custody. jon? >> marla, thank you very much. there's a report of eight victims so far and campbell police are convinced there may be more. 41-year-old john walker is in jail facing 14 counts of lewd

acts with children. they say walker cared for a number of kids at his home or at a child car center since 2002. investigators at this point think there is a good likelihood more kids were victimized. >> the children who reported this were obviously strong and did the right thing and we really are encouraging any other children or families who might have information regarding this investigation or others to come forward. >> walker is being held without bail right now. if you know anything about this case, please call campbell police. 5:35 right now. an 8-year-old richmond boy's recovering this morning after being shot in what police are calling a case of road rage. shot spotter picked up the gunfire on 80 monday night. police say he may have cut off the driver when he took the hill top exit. police say the other driver followed the victim's family and started shooting. the boy was hit but is in good

condition this morning. his family was not hurt but the gunman got away. a new plan to electrify caltrain could be tacked on to that $100 billion bullet train project. "today in the bay's" stephanie trang joins us with more on this proposal. good morning. >> reporter: right now caltrain is running on diesel so this means trains get powered by electricity through overhead wires. electric trains like b.a.r.t. and muni metro, the crowd was promised they'd spend $750 million from the state to help electrify a caltrain track in the next few years making it all faster, cleaner, quieter. richard also talked about plans to break down the 520-mile high-speed rail line into much smaller segments so that crews may finish them faster resulting in a quicker project timeline and perhaps a cheaper price tag which right now stands at $98

billion. as for the electification of caltrain tracks, we've got local leaders supporting it including san mateo assemblyman jerry hill who yesterday made a very public push for this idea. the expected completion date for the electification project would be 2019 and cost $1.5 billion. local leaders admit there may be some damage to city infrastructure and city streets in the process of the electrifying of caltrain tracks. they are waiting for details to come out in a report expected next week. let's check that forecast with meteorologist christina loren. st. patrick's day looks cold and showery but we aren't going to see the heavy downpours we are getting right now as that colder system moves onshore this weekend. we're more concerned about

thunderstorms and low snow levels. we'll get to that coming up. a lot to talk about when it comes to your forecast which has dramatically changed. last week at this time we were talking about 70s, even 80s an sunshine. what a difference a week makes around here with a lot of rain. potentially record rainfall as we head throughout the next few days. we've got multiple systems on the way. jet stream has finally taken a significant dip and the jet stream is what carries those storm systems from west to east across the united states. right now the jet stream is bull's-eyeing the bay area ushering in all this wet weather. right now take a look at this batch of rain which is on its way to oakland. moderate rain. as we head through the next 15, 20 minutes, more on the way to the peninsula as well. it is not just green this morning, we've got the yellow an orange. if you get caught in one of these downpours, it can make for very difficult driving conditions. take it easy out there, give yourself plenty of time if you're taking the little ones to school. south bay getting a break, san jose is nice and dry, no showers at this time but we did overnight so highways are slick just about everywhere across the

bay area. winds have been whipping as well and will continue to throughout the day today. temperatures will be on the cool side. you'll need that jacket. i'll talk about what's next to come as this next system moves onshore. each of these systems very different with their characteristics. a lot to talk about. 5:38. first let's check your drive with mike inouye. first, out to oakland, we do have the on-ramp open at coolidge avenue to eastbound 580 but you saw all that work going on. the car slows as it passes those workers with the remaining lane getting on to the freeway. use fruitvale if you can just a little to the north and that will be clear of all this activity. a tree down this morning and they're still cleaning it up. a lot of activity going on through the area. we have on the upper deck around treasure island an accident clearing from that roadway. some flooding reported off of the east shore freeway and heading east on 580 away from the bay bridge. we'll take you for a live look

just a little further south and look at the san mateo bridge. highway 92 moves smoothly through that commute with those taillights. camera shakes from time to time. gusty winds here. bay bridge, wet roads. very wet out there and that means snow in the sierra. we'll take you there to see how it's falling this morning. >> it is stacking up. plus, the new plan working through capitol hill that will likely have a few people smiling. no budget, no pay. details coming up in a live report. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in the people and communities who call the bay area home. from funding that helped a local entrepreneur start a business... to providing grants to a nonprofit

which offers job training and placement... and supporting an organization working to help the environment. because the more we do in the bay area, the more we help make opportunity possible.

5:42 right now. no budget, no pay. that's the message on capitol hill this morning as lawmakers turn the lens on themselves. "today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. this morning with a look at a new plan that takes aim at lawmakers pay. good morning, tracie. >> good morning. here's how it works. if we don't meet our deadline, we don't get paid. in fact, you may not even have a

job. but in the last 60 years congress has only met its budget deadline four times! that's four times in 60 years. today there is a hearing to discuss a new bill called "no budget, no pay. essentially if congress doesn't meet that october 1st deadline to get a budget in place and the spending bills suspend the money to meet that budget, then they wouldn't get paid. members of congress get $174,000 a year. that's their salary. those who are leaders in leadership positions, minority leader pelosi, for example, get paid a little bit more than that. but not only would they not get paid but when they finally do pass the budget, they would not get back pay for all the time that it took. now this is something that's come up before. it hasn't passed but it does have bipartisan support on both sides. democrats and republicans backing it. the question is, will enough democrats and republicans back it to get it through this time. taxpayer groups have been pushing for this. also for reforming the system for nominations and getting nominees through congress, that

tends to get bogged down a lot. then finally, they may also look today at whether or not congress should be dealing with a two-year budget plan so they don't have to go through this every single year. laura? >> thank you very much, tracie. gop presidential candidate rick santorum celebrating surprising and big-time win in the conservative south. >> we did it again. >> santorum winning mississippi with one-third of the votes. in alabama with 35%. in his speech he urged newt gingrich to drop out of the race. gingrich came in second in both states but gave no indication he's about to quit. this morning nbc news reporting mitt romney is the projected winner for the caucus out in hawaii. 5:44 right now. this morning snowfall in the sierra could mean white-out conditions by the weekend. "today in the bay's" brian hickey joins us from the summit with a look at the fresh powder. >> reporter: you can see we are right in the midst of a major winter storm as the storm

continues to swirl around up here. several inches of new snow overnight on top of all the snow they received yesterday as they get ready for even more snow to pile up here in the sierra. you get a real idea of how much snow is twirling around in the air right here at soda springs. recently caltrans just lowered chain controls from king vail down to nyak. we had a pretty slushy drive up here toward the summit. bottom line is if you're heading into the sierra this morning or any time today through the weekend you'll encounter these major winter conditions up here and at times with wind blowing the snow around you can expect whiteout conditions especially as we approach the weekend and temperatures drop and the snow level is expected to drop. all this means more snow, more water an even better skiing conditions up here in the sierra. brian hickey, back to you. >> what we have been waiting for. fantastic news. >> looks like a blast out there. i want to make snowmen and snow

angels. around here we're going to be getting drenched. >> yeah, right. you'd get out there in the snow and run right back inside. >> no. >> he's a manly man, jon kelly. good morning to you. he doesn't even need an umbrella. take a look at how much rain is coming down. you probably will want an umbrella. make sure those little ones have their rain gear as they head out the door as well. it is going to rain all day long. as we head throughout tonight we will get a little bit of a break. the showers will taper off a little bit so we won't be dealing with as much moderate rainfall at this point. we'll be dealing with lighter showers and a misty drizzle. then another system on this one's heels. this one is a juicy system. that's going to impact us as we head through the second half of your thursday. nice dry break for the south bay. your highways are still nice and slick. good batch of rain getting ready to move into san bruno. watch out, heavy downpours here in the next 15 to 20 minutes. in the north bay they were getting a break but now the active weather is back in

petaluma, also pushing onshore in marin county. it all times out like this. we stop the clock on future cast. later today, 6:00 p.m., you see the trend. not as much deep green. talking about more of the light rain. that's good news for your evening commute. we stop the clock again at 6:00 a.m. thursday. still getting some light rain overnight. your highways are going to be slick tomorrow but the heavy stuff doesn't move in until about 4:00 p.m. thursday. we're going to get a heavy round of rain tomorrow evening, and then another one friday morning but all this moisture, for the sierra nevada, north star, just above 6,000 feet -- two fresh feet of snow. very interesting when it comes to your snow levels. 6,000 feet. two feet of snow in squaw. look at kirkwood. we take you above 7,000 feet. that's where you'll get the best powder -- up to six feet of fresh snow. kirkwood is probably going to be hopping as we head through this weekend with more rain on the way. monday, cloudy finally. we get a little bit of a drying

trend. monday into tuesday, look at your daytime highs -- 55 degrees. overnight if the sky is clear, we could easily drop below the freezing mark. you really want to keep that in mind if you're someone withal cultural interests. a deep freeze is certainly possible monday into tuesday with all this moisture and temperature tumbling. we'll keep tracking these storms for you all morning long. right now let's track your drive with mike. >> wrap those pipes outside as well. don't want those bursting on you. livermore, 580, 15-minute drive. most of the sploeing before you get to north flynn. this is pretty good for 5:48 in the morning in that commute direction. no incidents down to the dublin interchange. 680 moves smoothly south down through sunol. north, highway 4, scattered pattern here. antioch, 15 miles per hour at the slow l street sensor. clear by the time you get to leverage. moving smoothly for 680.

to the caldecott tunnel, a tree is down but the on-ramp is open to coolidge. westbound 580 at harrison an accident still clearing from the roadway but the one on the bay bridge has cleared from that side of the bay. on the peninsula, an accident 101 south past candlestick has cleared from the lanes and so has the slowing. flooding reported at van ness. flooding in napa, slick conditions all around the bay. claims from san francisco's police chief that his department is being handcuffed in a manner of speaking. he says a board of supervisor's proposal requiring his department to follow state and local privacy laws when working with federal counterterrorist investigators will handicap his investigators. he says his department followed up on 2,000 tips from the joint terrorism task force just last year. he wants the mayor to veto the legislation if the board passes

it on a final vote next tuesday. 5:49 right now. new warning about traveling con man back in the bay area. menlo park police say simon gann is one of the notorious gann twins. palo alto weekly reports gann is out on parole and police have received reports he's up to his old tricks. gann usually poses as a math expert or business tycoon who needs to recover from losing his passport or wallet. let's just say it is officially official. the 49ers santa clara stadium is a go. the santa clara city council voting last night to approve the lease, budget and terms of the stadium project. the 68,000 seat facility will be built next to great america. the lease agreement between the city and the 49ers is locked in for 40 years and the team will pay the city $30 million per year. construction set to begin in a

few months. the stadium should be ready for the 2014 season. the uc berkeley men's basketball team starts the march to a possible ncaa title tonight. the golden bears play south florida at 6:10 in what some are calling the first four. if the bears win that game then they make it to the field of 64 teams to make up the ncaa tournament. cal is favored to win the ball game tonight. go bears. meantime, the st. mary's men's basketball team -- that's your school, young lady -- they'll board a plane this morning bound for omaha, nebraska. gales getting ready for their first game of the tournament. they're playing purdue. >> is that a question? >> none. none. st. mary's. number 17 in the midwest bracket. they leave campus at 9:00 a.m. and are urging fans to feel the magic. >> go gales! good luck! 5:51 right now. the well-known san francisco hotel that's now under new

ownership. clint eastwood now coming to a television near you. reports he'll be in a new reality show. what happens if your bank we fa'l'll tatake a a looook.k.il what happens if your bank we fa'l'll tatake a a looook.k.il wel take a look. youour cacar. ddo sosomeththing for it. show it some love. chevron with techron. care for your car.

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) there's no doubt in my mind that komen's funding helped saved my life. the 3-day is my opportunity to help save others' lives. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. with 3 days and 60 miles, you're making a bold statement. you're saying breast cancer is not going to win. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together.

(man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime. welcome back, everybody. attention captain jack sparrow. there could and real-life buried treasure hunt in the bay area. the marin independent journal reporting a researcher says he knows exactly where the treasure from a ship wreck more than 400 years ago is buried. bren he says he's pain takingly gone through the ship logs and it is buried near by.

>> let's get our scuba gear and go look for that treasure. santa clara's fairmont hotel has been sold for $200 million. bloomberg reports the 591-room luxury hotel on knob hill was bought by a los angeles based real estate developer. the fairmont's owners were struggling financially and ran up against union opposition over that condo conversion. workers arguing it would cost jobs. 5:55. one of hollywood's all-time biggest screen legends making a move into reality tv. clint eastwood. the show will actually spotlight his wife, dina eastwood, who married the oscar winning actor and director in 1996. expect to see clint -- of course he'll make a few appearances, pump up the ratings. the show titled "mrs. eastwood

and company" premiers may 20th on the e! network. scott mcgrew says the encyclopedia britannica is no longer something you can put on your bookshelf. >> it was sort of fun to page through and learn things. so the encyclopedia, they've stopped printing books. instead they'll concentrate on online efforts. the announcement from encyclopedia britannica ends more than 200 years of printing. the 32-volume set of all the world's knowledge costs $1,400. now encyclopedia britannica's online site will cost money, too, though it is free this week so people can try it out and compare it to wikipedia. the fed has decided not raise interest rates, something that surprised no one, but it did expect the economy to grow, it said. and an interesting note -- the open markets committee decides

interest rates through a vote and not everyone voted to keep interest rates low. one fed governor said the economy's growth doesn't warrant that. that can be interpreted as good news. he feels much more positive about our future. the fed also releasing the results of its so-called stress test. you may have heard a number of banks failed that test, including city, which has locations here in the bay area. what does it mean for you? well, actually very little. the fed says banks like citi and ally an sun trust will be appropriated from doing things like paying a dividend to investors. now, as far as your own money goes, it will be perfectly safe. on a positive note -- 15 of 19 banks, including san francisco's wells fargo, did pass the test. back to you. >> very nice. thank you. 5:57 right now. still more to come on "today in the bay." we'll be right back after this. we'll look at 580 where some

of the reason for the slowing, a disabled vehicle reported now in livermore. s down.easons, the rain and the. we'll give you the latest on all of those coming up.