it's a day that teachers know and dread. that's right, it's pink slip day, but there's an unusual protest planned on their behalf. i'm christie smith, i'll tell you what bubbles have to do with it coming up. oakland is bringing more pot clubs into the city. leaders say it will help the economy, but some residents are not convinced. we'll hear what they have to say. >> drivers hoping to use the new express lanes in milpitas this morning will have to wait a few more days. we'll tell you what's causing this project to fall behind. and a live look outside this morning. golden gate bridge another storm headed our way. we'll check the forecast on this

thursday, march 14th, this is today in the bay. good morning, everyone, on this thursday, it is just about 4:31. i'm john kelly. and i'm laura garcia-cannon, and let's check the forecast. >> good morning, a lot to talk about in the weather department, everyone keeps asking when is the rain going to let up. we're getting a bit of a dry break right now but we've got a lot more on the way. let me take you up north and show you the next system which is pushing into the northerly portion of the state. that will drop heavy rain on the bay area as we head throughout the day today. starting at about noon, we're talking heavy downpours, up in the north bay we'll take you through the forecast and let you know what is coming next and you want to give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination safely, we'll check the drive with mike. despite all of the after math you're talking about, the

roadways not reporting any freeways blocked by that. but we've got an accident eastbound 80 university avenue off-ramp as you are heading away from the bay bridge, sounded like a car clipped the sand barrel, the yellow barrels at the off ramp. there are flashing lights arriving on scene. no slowing for the eastshore freeway. we'll get a lookt bay bridge toll plaza, light volume, and there may be puddles around the bay and keep that in mind and i'm tracking a fire reporting in san jose and it's off of san tomas expressway from what i under. today is nothing short of a busy day as thousands of pink slips will be handed out to california teachers. >> it's the deadline for districts to notify employees, but the teachers have a message, too, christie smith is live in oakland where there will be one of many unusual protests, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. it's the type of protest

students might love, standing in front of their schools blowing bubbles and the message, though, is very serious, don't blow it. they want to make sure that lawmakers do their best to try and pass a budget that fully funds education. this on what is known as pink slip day, march 15th. the day that thousands of teachers get preliminary notice that they could be laid off. many notices are in the end rescinded by may 15th, but it's a tough day and students and parents around the state will be standing outside their respective schools blowing bubbles. they are expressing frustration with a budget proposal that ties funding to a not yet passed initiative. they are saying that districts are looking at or already have cut teachers and shortening the school year and basically eliminating a number of enrichment programs that really help kids and this comes as the governor and the california federation of teachers reached a

compromise a competing tax initiatives, but if it fails the cuts could be automatically triggered. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, today in the bay. oakland ready to cash in on pot clubs, the city ready to send out new permits allowing four more to set up shops including one at a vacant bank at 21st and broadway, neighborhood response is mixed. >> i just don't want to see the whole downtown solely based on cannabis, do you know what i'm saying? i want to see more coffee shops and clothing stores. >> i tend to think of crime being associated more with illegal drug distribution, so i don't think there would be a problem with having one right here. >> for the record, the four existing pot clubs in oakland generate more than $1.6 million for the city and at this point it is not clear how the new dispensaries will be impacted on the recent federal crackdown on such operations. there are new claims that injuries suffered by an iraq war

veteran on a police raid during occupy oak lamed's encampment was no accident. scott olsen suffered a fractured skull in the clash with officers and this video shows him being pulled from the chaotic scene with a gash on his head. according to his attorney, olson was hit at close range by a beanbag and not a tear gas can nimsster as originally thought here. olson suing the city and the new evidence shows he was it intentionally. a verdict will be announced this morning in the retrial accused of killing tracy belit did cov, his lawyers say it was a crime of passion, not premeditated. he still faces a possible life sentence if found guilty.

more alleged victims are coming forward claiming they were molested by a south bay nanny. campbell police say they've received numerous phone calls from people about john walker also known as mr. johnny. on tuesday walker was charged with 14 counts of lewd acts with children. he did not enter a plea to charges he molested more than five children. walker will be back in court next week. new this morning a south san francisco girl back home after police say her mother kidnapped her. police say 5-year-old jonah joseph was found last night at a motel in southern california. she was with her mother. police say perez was visiting the girl's father on sunday when she allegedly took the girl and stole his car. no word on if perez will be facing charges. the fbi searching for an armed man they say could be responsible for a string of bank robberies across the state. take a good look at the surveillance photos. the most recent robbery

happening on monday in vacaville. the suspect managed to get away with an undisclosed amount of cash. investigators thinking at this point he may be behind bank robberies y ies in southern california. breaking news happening right now, firefighters battling a three alarm fire at a building in underwood drive in san jose. we understand at least one firefighter is being treated to minor injury to his hand. fire's knocked down but still not under control. we've got a crew on the way to the scene and we'll certainly have more information for you throughout the morning. in other news people in one peninsula city could be paying more for water and sewer service. they plan to raise water rates by 12% and sewer rates by 9% in may that means people will pay $5 more per month. the city has increased rates by 9% in each of the past couple of years. it says it needs the money for repairs and upgrades, if

approved the new rates would go into effect july 1st. mother nature did more than dampen the commute, the constant rain kept a lot of people indoors and it was bad news for local businesses that say they didn't see nearly as many customers as usual. in oakland, a candy shop lost most of its inventory when rain poured through the ceilings, and several power outages kept pg&e workers just busy all over the bay, and trust us, it is not over yet. the next storm all set to move in later on tonight. >> let's get the details with christine lorenz, how are we looking? >> it's looking good. it's a dry break. if you need to get outdoor activities taken care of, this is the time to do so. we're not waiting until tonight. we're talking about showers starting this afternoon. right now the radar is dry. it will not last for long. we'll start to see the first

spotty showers in the north bay before we hit noon. san jose really interesting setup here. san jose only picked up about 0. 2 of an inch, but san francisco picked up over 1.25, and oakland over 1.5, we're talking about very different issues when it comes to the microclimate across the bay area. you probably won't find as many puddles or ponds in san jose as you will in san francisco and oakland. take it easy out there. and the winds had been whipping all night long and we've got a lot of debris in the highway. you can walk out your front door without a jacket, but bring the umbrella with you. 57 in san jose. 57, good morning in livermore. two more systems on the way. the first one will start to impact us later today and as you head throughout the next couple of days things change. we'll check your drive first with mike. we'll take you to the map, the maze overall things are moving nicely approaching the bay bridge, christine has been talking about debris on the roadway. we just got this in.

actually a sigalert after the report was filed. southbound highway 13. you see where the slowing is starting up already. it sounds like a tree has fallen onto a freeway and may have trapped someone into a car. based on the initial chp report, but we've got follow-up going on and we may have a reporter heading out to confirm it as well. slowing approaching park boulevard off of highway 24 because of the tree down on the freeway. watching for more reports of that on surface streets, but right now the other issue was the fire underwood drive off of the san tomas expressway, west of 17. this is not a major commute spot but it will be an issue for local traffic and as the reporter there getting a follow-up we'll see if it's a bigger issue. meanwhile the commute through the south bay moving smoothly, and the roadways not quite as wet as yesterday but more rain is coming so prepare for that later on during the day, so

lower the speeds because there are puddles out there. even the bad weather is delaying the expressway, in milpit milpitas, they were supposed to open today but the water has pu weather has pushed it back. solo commuters will be able to drive in carpool lanes if they pay a toll collected through their fastrak devices. coming up, he's less than a year old but her small body was failing. how this little girl is getting a second chance at life with a selfless gift from a grieving family. preparing for plan "b," facebook wants to expand in menlo park but it's shopping for places across the bay. and governor brown striking a deal on his tax initiative by raising taxes on high earners. and for all your news, weather, and traffic updates check us out on facebook.

welcome back, everyone. governor brown making a last-minute change to his november ballot initiative. he's joining forces with backers of the so-called millionaires tax. the governor striking a deal with the california federation of teachers, in that the group will withdraw its tax proposal and the governor's going to tweak his. under the compromise the four-year sales tax hike will be reduced but the tax rate on high

income earners will be going up and last an additional two years. facebook eyeing real estate across the bay for an expansion just in case things don't pan out in menlo park. the silicon valley business journal said they are shopping for alternate sites including one in newark across the dumbarton bridge from its current headquarters. they are in negotiation with menlo park to build more office space across from the sun microsystems it now occupies. facebook execs says if they cannot get more space, they may have to relocate. the dow hits a high note on wall street but it wasn't enough to keep trading stable. for a check on how markets are faring this morning we turn to jackie deangelis, good morning, jackie. >> good morning, laura. the futures are pointing to a higher open on wall street. stocks ended mixed on wednesday, gold fell sharply lower over 2% and the dow closed up slightly

by 16 points but still to its highest levels since 2007. it's busy today with jobless claims and ppi coming out. the empire state manufacturing survey and the philadelphia fed survey will also be released later this morning. the imf is scheduled to meet to discuss the financial bailout for greece and look for those headlines. it's good to be a retiring ceo, william weldon the current ceo of johnson & johnson stands to gain pension benefits over $1.5 million, and he could begin collecting the benefits after he retires next month. shares of madison square garden fell on news of mike d'antoni's resignati resignation. he was at the end of a four year contract and the split was reportedly mutual. mike woodson has been named the

interim coach, and he led the team to a win over the trail blaze blazers. virginia tech found negligent for the deadly campus shootings back in 2007. a jury handing down that verdict wednesday saying the school was at fault for delaying a campus-wide warning when the shooting began, just terrifying. the verdict was in response to a wrongful death civil suit brought by parents of 2 of the 32 students killed during the ugly massacre. former illinois governor rod blagojevich begins his four-year prison term in colorado. this is a live look at his chicago home where supporters have placed banners calling for his freedom. blagojevich, a guy that lovels the media attention, was sentenced in december after he was found guilty for corruption after trying to sell barack obama senate seat after he was elected president in 2008. the republican presidential campaign moves off the mainland. rick santorum is in puerto

rico today telling residents he will push for statehood if they want it. puerto rico has 20 delegates up for grabs when the primary happens on sunday. santorum's confidence was bolstered by his surprise victories in alabama and mississippi. he insisted he's not trying to push newt gingrich out of the race. >> i didn't ask newt gingrich to get into this race, i'm not going to ask him to get out of the race. >> mitt romney spent upwards of $1 million of advertising in illinois which happens tuesday. 4:48 on the clock, christina is back in and this is literally the calm before the storm, right? >> before the next. we've got two more on the way. but it's not calm out there. mike received word of a downed tree and we'll have reports of that in a moment. we've got aftermath to deal with. your highways are slick. areas of ponding and puddles, you want to take it easy, the radar is the driest it's been over the past 48 hours.

it won't stay dry all day long. the next system is moving into the northern portion of the state and it will bring cold air with it. we've had really mild conditions, the two systems that passed over the past couple weeks have been warm, the next two are very, very cold. today the rain returns, friday, the third storm, the coldest of the three, really unstable and it will bring a lot of thunderstorm activity. i'm talking about strong storms potentially producing dime-sitezed hail. we could see very gusty winds in excess ofiles per hour and justno carrierringringconnect 3

them a new liver was available. it came from a healthy 2-year-old child recently killed in an accident. wilson and her husband say they are grateful and look forward to meeting the family who saved michaela's life. >> even though they are suffering the tremendous loss because of their decision, they saved our child. >> michaela's family hoping to have her back home in vallejo by next month. in the meantime they are planning a golf tournament and a lua fund-raiser to pay off a

very expensive surgery. >> what a great, great ending to that, organ transplant a is a beautiful thing. the road to march madness is ending early for the cal bears. and 580 through oakland, this may your alternate as we find out more details. the fallen tree across the roadway. hey, your high speed internet here, at home...

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welcome back, everyone. a live look outside. 280/880 interchange doesn't look like too much traffic here. we've got a situation up on highway 13 that we're keeping tabs on this morning. it appears a tree has gone down on a car. we've got a crew on the way to the scene. we've got details coming up. unfortunately it was bad news for the cal bears after their run in march madness was extremely short and not very sweet. last night the bears taking on south florida in dayton, ohio. usf dominating most of the game. bears were down 24 at the halftime. head coach mike montgomery said it was probably the worst his team has played all year. the bears managed to rally, though, in the last seven minutes. but too little, too late. south florida wins 65-54, ending

cal's season. yeah, bummer. spring training continues for the giants down in arizona. the g-men hosting the indians last night, buster posey looking and feeling good. posey flexing up on his first home run of the spring training. that tied the game at 2-2 and the game ends tied at 2 after ten innings. want to check the commute. we were talking about a tree down on highway 13 this morning. mike has the details. doesened sou ene doesn't sound good. >> christie smith is still getting over to the scene. southbound highway 13 is closed right now at park boulevard. tree reported down reportedly trapping one, maybe a couple of people in a car there. chain saws are out trying to remove the tree, trying to help the folks. we got word from chp there is at least one person dead as a result of this accident. highway 13 in the southbound direction is closed at park boulevard, that means eastbound 580 heading away from the maze that will be your alternate for the time being. likely it will be at least an hour and a half before the

coroner can make the report which is necessary after an incident like this, but with the tree removal we don't know how long it will be. chp will hopefully give us an idea how long caltrans will take to clear it. the earlier accident over there north of the maze we're looking at eastbound 80 at university avenue, it has cleared from the off-ramp, the off-ramp is open. no slowing for the eastshore freeway. a wider look at the vicinity shows you a smooth drive but we're talking about the rain soaked hills and watching reports for more trees down. i just got one for the santa cruz mountains, highway 17 reporting a tree south of the summit, i'll bring you more details coming up. >> and the ground is so saturated, more rain ahead. a surprising twist of fate for a london man, he went from living out on the street selling newspapers to publishing a book about his life. >> and he has a cat to thank for it. he found the cat five years ago and he took the cat in and the

two became inseparable, and he sits with him at work and a literary agent noticed the pair interacting and offered bowen a book deal and he agreed and teamed up with the journalist to tell the story, and the book "a street cat named bob" goes on sale today. "today on the bay" we're following breaking news in the south bay where a large fire is burning on underwood drive in san jose. we've got a crew on the way right now and we'll bring you a live update coming up. a string of burglarieies ar shaking up an oakland neighborhood. and for all your news and traffic and weather updates, you know what to do,ck us o onut on facebook, search nbc bay area news. i was ready for my trip, but my smile wasn't. [ female announcer ] new crest 3d white intensive professional effects whitestrips. it goes below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a five-hundred dollar professional treatment for a transformation that's hard to believe.

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an 89-year-old woman the latest victim of a home invasion