west side of downtown towards the golden gate bridge. sunshine, 55 degrees in san francisco, 57 currently in san jose and as we move into the afternoon we should see highs around san jose approach near 80 degrees. one thing to watch if you're going to head to the high country, both this afternoon, that showing up later today and into sunday a chance of sierra thundershowers at times. our bay area temperatures will start to warm up a few more degrees especially come tomorrow. close to 78 degrees you're going to head out to santa cruz this afternoon, 65 monterey, yosemite and lake tahoe could see a stray thundershower this afternoon and back to the bay area our temperatures climbing perhaps into the low 90s come tomorrow. i'll have a complete look at your memorial day weekend forecast coming up in a few minutes. kris in. >> thank you. as rob mentioned it is memorial day weekend and for some folks that means an extra day off, maybe an extra cocktail or two and why law enforcement is reminding everyone to designate a driver. this is one of the first dui checkpoint of the weekend and law enforcement around the bay area says you can expect more of

these to pop up throughout the holiday weekend. san mateo police say they are stopping vehicles at random looking for any signs that the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. they're also making sure people have valid driver's licenses. police say it may be an inconvenience to some drivers but also a great way to make the roads safer. police say checkpoint and stepped up patrols aren't enough so they want everyone to be on the lookout when on the road too. >> we count on the community to be our eyes and ears on the street. if you see someone who appears to be under the influence or having had some type of driving problem we would encourage you to call us. >> the california highway patrol says last year 117 people were arrested for dui over the memorial day weekend in the bay area. that was down from the previous year and law enforcement says they hope that downward trend continues. >> just in to our newsroom this morning, 101 south in millbrae is shut down after a big rig crashed, overturned, spilled produce all over the roadway and

worse, the driver was trapped in the wreckage for nearly an hour. this was the scene on highway 101 near millbrae where the big rig overturned around 3:00 this morning. the chp reports emergency responders had to use the jaws of life to free that man who was stuck behind the wheel. he was then airlifted to stanford but the good news is that he was awake and talking with emergency crews. the cleanup effort continues and, of course, so does the impact on traffic. we'll let you know when call trans gives us the all clear. and now to continuing coverage on the highway construction near at&t park that could make a memorial day drive into or out of san francisco a little less fun. southbound interstate 280 will be shut down from 6th street to pennsylvania avenue and will have a big impact especially on giants fans. fans who live on the peninsula or in the south bay used to that easy jump on to 280 near the ballpark found out that the closures are now in effect and so are the detours.

they found at 4th and king a closure, the a ramp rather the onramp shut down, many fans driving in heavy traffic looking for the detour. the giants did use social media to discourage fans from driving to avoid a traffic mess and looks like a lot of folks got the message. they used cal trains to get to the game and say it was crowded but convenient. >> upon hearing this week that -- how crazy the traffic will be and different little things going on, construction, whatever the case may be, we were informed it would be better to take the train. >> some giants fans who tried cal trains say it was such a good experience they will never drive to a game again. southbound 280 the pennsylvania ram will re main closed until tuesday morning. go to nbcbayarea.com for a complete coverage of the partial 280 closure including the ways that you can get around it. that's nbcbayarea.com. new this morning a gunman

terrorized parts of santa barbara going on a random shooting spree that claimed the lives of seven people before then turning the gun on himself. the gunman began his deadly rampage last night near the isla vista student enclave next to the uc santa barbara campus. the santa barbara sheriff says that what happened next was what he calls a case of premeditated mass murder. the gunman exchanged gunfire with deputies before driving off in a black bmw suv crashing into a parked car and shooting himself in the head. the sheriff says the gunman was a severely mentally disturbed man who he believes acted alone. deputies did recover a semiautomatic handgun from the suv. now in addition to the seven people killed in the rampage, seven other people are in the hospital and there are nine different crime scenes. we will have more on this developing story throughout the day on air and on-line at nbcbayarea.com. never forgotten, nearly 20 years ago, a castro valley girl

was mysteriously killed in her own home and last night hundreds gathered for a memorial and candlelight walk in honor of jenny lynn. may 27th, 1994, the student was found dead in her home, just 14 years old. her family says the pain is still very fresh decades later. >> like it just happened yesterday. every day over the past 20 years, every morning we wake up, first thing you think about is our jenny. there's no way she can come back. >> her parents have found some peace forming the jenny lynn foundation, that focuses on child safety and sponsors a free summer music camp. jenny was a gifted violinist. a $100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to her killer. six burglary cases solved on the peninsula. sunnyvale police officers say

they caught the three teenagers behind them. investigators say these three worked together to target noems sunnyvale, redwood city and fremont and one case police say a teen got into a fight with a sunnyvale homeowner and fired off a gun. luckily no one was hurt. investigators say another teen was arrested after committing a home invasion robbery in fremont. the pillowcase rapist is being paroled. a santa clara judge ordered kris ter hubbart released from a northern california facility and sent to a home in palmdale in los angeles county. hubbart's most recent crimes happened in santa clara county. he was convicted of raping nearly 40 women, some of them here in the bay area. but investigators say he admitted to raping as many as 100 women. records also show that every time hubbart has been released from prison he raped again and that has the public outraged. >> it will be a crime whether it's on another -- a new victim or himself. >> sheriffs are concerned that

mr. hubbart may well not be a reformed criminal and does pose risk. >> the judge ordered the release of hubbart some time before july 7th. the 63-year-old convict will be watched around the clock in his first six to 12 months of his release at the home in palmdale and then wear a 24-hour gps monitoring device for the rest of his life. take a good look at this man with a mohawk. police are hoping you can help find him after what they are calling a gutsy crime. officers say he pulled up in his car at the morgan hill target on thursday night, pointed a shotgun at a woman and demanded her purse. the woman ran off unharmed but five minutes later he used that same shotgun again at the subway restaurant down the street and got away with cash. the man spotted in a white car that could be a chevy cavalier or a dodge neon. the car had a black covering over the grill. the group lift up oakland

delivered how is thousands of signatures for an initiative to increase the minimum wage from from $8 to $12.25 per hour. they say it would benefit more than just the worker. >> we want to see businesses thrive because their workers feel valued and we want to see our whole community flourish because workers will spend more money in our local economy. >> the group also wants future pay increases tied to inflation and a guarantee of at least five annual sick days for all workers. the chamber of commerce says it does want higher wages for employees just not all at once. still ahead on "today in the bay," tourists take a seal pup from a monterey beach but wildlife workers spring into action to save it. the details on a rescue mission that included a car chase. i'm scott budman. a south bay city on the rise, but its biggest mall might be for sale.

coming up a growth story that has some shoppers concerned.

first, mike honda stubbornly refused all debates. now honda's slinging mud, launching false attacks. isn't it time to put the old politics aside? the chronicle endorses ro khanna, saying he "offers an upgrade in congress for silicon valley." and the mercury news says, "ro khanna is ready for the congress of tomorrow... ...while honda is a politician of the past." for our future: ro khanna. khanna: i'm ro khanna and i approve this message.

you are watching "today in the bay." good morning. looking live at the port of oakland and some blue skies that will remain through your holiday weekend and now looking live at the golden gate bridge, where there's some good news for drivers who feel maybe a little unnerved about driving in those middle lanes separated from oncoming traffic by just a couple yellow plastic tubes. yesterday bridge district leaders gave the green light on a project that would replace those little tubes with a movable barrier. that median will be made of steel and concrete and cost about $30 million. the plan is to have trucks move the median to different lanes to

accommodate traffic flow. drivers will pay a price because installing it will force crews to close the bridge to traffic the weekend of january 10th. we have an update to a story we first brought youn february. the bay area woman caught repeatedly trying to board planes at sfo without a ticket has been diagnosed with severe depression. maryland hartman has been sentenced to two years supervised probation. police say she tried to get on planes headed to hawaii several times this year. the san mateo district attorney says hartman has been under evaluation for the past month after pleading no contest to trespassing. it is the crown retail jewel of the south bay city and now it is up for sale. the prune yard in campbell with retail shops, movie theater and hotel was quietly put on the market. business and tech reporter scott budman gets reaction from business people and shoppers alike. >> reporter: it's a place where you can find a big bank.

and a small bakery. the pruneyard, a campbell growth story since the early 1970s is up for sale for the first time in more than a decade. >> i probably started coming here when the pruneyard was just opened in the '70s. >> reporter: and while kept a lot of its old-school charm there's been a lot of growth here. >> it's been kind of sad to see that it's not quite the shopping destination it used to be. i would be sad to see it go. >> so many good places to eat and things to do here. i mean they have a movie theater here, your trader joe's over there, supermarket, everything you need basically you can find it here. >> reporter: campbell itself is going through something of a growth boom with new housing and new businesses moving in. almost hard to believe that this pruneyard tower was once the tallest building between san francisco and los angeles.

>> come here and i'll come to get a sandwich after my workout or something like that and if you're here after 10:30 it's hard to get parking and it's surprisining to me. i have to think people are starting to recognize it, use it more. >> is scott budman, nbc bay area news. >> interesting to see what happens. still ahead on "today in the bay," what would you say to the family of the man who saved your life? that story is coming up next. and a view over the east bay towards dublin, the low clouds close to the dublin grade this morning. we have sunny and warmer temperatures ahead. your full forecast for your memorial day weekend when we come right back.

tootell. good morning to you. looking live at san francisco. beautiful if you're already there, but if you're headed there remember the detours are in effect right around at&t park. interstate 280 constructionp.

to the south bay and a nice start to the day as well as we look toward the knight-ridder building and downtown san jose. a bizarre rescue of a harbor seal pup. a family scooped the harbor seal pup out of the water near carmel last month and started driving north in their rv. volunteers at the marin mammal center's facility heard about it and hit the road. they knew the seal would not survive long without its mother. eventually they caught up with the family and convinced them to hand over the seal. beamer is now doing well and is learning how to catch fish on his own. certainly that family must be facing charges. i can't imgagine they're not. the kind of meeting that happens only once-in-a-lifetime. the chance to meet the family of a man who saved your life. yesterday was that day for a bay area woman who had been struggling with kidney failure. "today in the bay" stephanie tron has the story. >> just thanks and excitement to

meet them. >> reporter: as the weight of the moment sunk in her voice broke. >> ready for this? >> yeah. >> reporter: tears and laughs. >> i had to do a shot before i came. >> reporter: as the moments inched closer. this moment. >> i just thought, what an awesome lady. i mean, michael did good. >> reporter: for kim choppi losing her 24-year-old son michael in 2011 was nearly paralyzing. what eased some pain his passing saved three other lives, including faith's. >> he did not die in vain, that some good came out of his passing. >> to me it's a life continued that even though it's not michael's it's still a life continued. >> reporter: turns out of life-saving decision dates back over a decade. michael and his two siblings

told their parents they wanted to be organ donors. >> thank you to a 14-year-old child who decides to sign an orgen donor card and had no concept that anything would ever come from it. >> reporter: michael and his family's selflessness and at 58 faith says she feels stronger that be ever before. >> he was somebody about life and living and it's really taught me a lot to appreciate again every single second you have. >> reporter: stephanie chuang, nbc bay area news. let's check in with meteorologist rob mayeda who has a forecast for plans. >> i think outdoor plans should be fine through the weekend but may feel a little bit hot in some of the valleys starting tomorrow as we approach the low 90s. this morning a comfortable start, patchy low clouds and a few spots from the emeryville camera looking back to san francisco. you can see some of those patchy low clouds and temperatures close to emeryville currently in the mid 50s.

over to san francisco towards this evening the game time coming up after 7:00. low 60s. bit of a sea breeze today. less of that at the same time tomorrow which will allow san francisco to climb into the 70s as we head into sunday. right now, the wind still onshore. seeing the sea breeze not just for san francisco but reaching into fairfield and livermore, though those wind speeds will be backing off on sunday. we've got a lot of low clouds on the coast too. and that will make for a cool start to the day before we see a high pressure compress down the marin layer. good visibility inland where we're not seeing the best visibility half moon bay just over a mile, the low clouds, mist and drizzle probably on the coast tomorrow, we will see more sunshine towards the coast and warmer temperatures there too. jet stream not far away from us. it will bring rain to the pacific northwest but high pressure strengthening for about a 36-hour period. this will be sunday into monday. that's going to bring mostly clear skies and we should actually see less low clouds out on the coast during the day tomorrow. one thing to watch out for, the

sierra where we'll have a chance of showers and maybe some thunder at times over the next couple afternoons. hour by hour your coastal forecast, see the low clouds starting to back off away from the coast. towards the afternoon, notice interestingly enough into sunday morning not much in the way of low clouds here. perhaps we'll see a sunnier start even out towards pacifica and half moon bay for tomorrow and our temperatures warming up a few more degrees as we wrap up the weekend. the high country, the next couple afternoons the thundershowers flaring around the crest of the sierra today and tomorrow. this is the bay area starts to see our temperatures climb up with some upper 80s to low 90s in the valleys into tomorrow afternoon. today, pretty comfortable, san jose near 80 degrees, mid 80s around saratoga and morgan hill. peninsula temperatures in the mid 70s from belmont to palo alto. san francisco in the mid to upper 60s today and head through the next five days, sunday, san francisco, jumping into the 70s near 70 on memorial day monday, san jose also seeing

temperatures climbing as we head into tomorrow. some locations now for the north bay, highs in the 80s around napa and santa rosa for today. sausalito close to 70. towards the tri-valley numbers today, mostly in the low to mid 80s. 70s closer to oakland. fremont 6 degrees. and sure enough santa rosa and livermore seeing temperatures climb for tomorrow upper 80s and low 90s and i think out towards the tri-valley we'll probably hang on to one more relatively warm to hot day inland. towards danville and livermore through monday and then the sea breeze turning stronger again that's going to lead to the cooling you see there in the next five days, also in the next seven days in the bottom of the screen, things will be cooling down which will be nice. but outdoor plans just fine. but do expect a little more sunshine out near the beaches for tomorrow and then staying nice and comfortable into monday. kris? >> thank you very much, rob. students make a major scientific discovery. coming up on "today in the bay," two students who don't even have their college degrees yet find

something scientists have never seen before.

you are watching "today in the bay." to our bay area proud segment where a couple weeks ago we celebrated a space scientist who spent decades working to make his big discovery. this morning two discoveries made by younger scientists. "today in the bay" garvin thomas tells white house they are and what they found. >> reporter: the great space discoveries of our day are no longer made looking through an eye piece at an observatory. they are made crunching numbers on a computer. it's why when assistant san jose state physics and astronomy professor aaron romanowski wanted to teach an eager student how to find a newly discovered type of galaxy he pointed him not to a telescope but a set of data. >> that's where we're going to look. >> reporter: it took that student, richard vo, about a

year to learn how to even do the search. but when he did earlier this year -- >> the first time he looked for something and seemed to have found something right away. usually that's just a mistake but it turned out to be real. >> more mass packed in the smaller spots. >> reporter: what richard had found was the densest collection of stars or ultracompact dwarf galaxy anyone anywhere had ever found. >> we don't know much about it at all. we just know it's just out there. >> reporter: his fine so significant, richard was flown to hawaii to confirm it at an observatory there. richard's teacher says having a 23-year-old undergrad make such a finding was so unexpected it was like winning the lottery. >> so -- >> reporter: you can just imagine then how he felt when it happened again. >> and this is the object i found right here. >> reporter: michael sandoval is a classmate of richard's who thought it was cool what he was doing and asked if he could collaborate. >> that's what we're looking at right now.

>> reporter: richard shared what he knew and a month later michael made a finding that blew even richard's out of the water. the new record holder for densest galaxy known to man. >> it was like when i found out, i was like huh, well then, great. >> can we look at this dr 7. >> reporter: both young men are collaborating on a paper to be published and presented, starting two careers in science, with one very big bang. garvin thomas, "today in the bay." new developments in the donald sterling controversy. coming up on "today in the bay," the embattled owner of the l.a. clippers may be ready to part with his team. the details in a newly surfaced report. and the data base hacked, millions of customers' information compromised. this morning new questions about eb ebay's response to a cyber attack. ♪

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from nbc bay area this is "today in the bay." >> happy memorial day weekend to you all. looking live at palo alto, hazy and cool to start the morning but a mild forecast coming up and san francisco looking more blue than the peninsula this morning. i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist rob mayeda and that fog has got you running all over the map. >> seeing a little patches of fog in and around the inner bay. some of it there as we look from the emoeryville city camera vie. the patchy low clouds around emeryville. san jose, the clear skies and out towards palo alto few patches of low clouds right now. temperatures heading into the afternoon, near 80 in san jose, 85 closer to livermore and low 80s inland up towards the north bay. one thing to watch out for, height country, those are good thundershowers around 3:30 this afternoon from around lake tahoe to yosemite, the trend of the weekend.

bay area temperatures warming up a little more come tomorrow. so if you're going to head out to the coast the sunshine in santa cruz. patchy low clouds in monterey, 86 in yosemite with the thundershowers. bay area temperatures having a chance at finding 90s by tomorrow. we'll show you that in the forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you very much, rob. it is memorial day weekend as rob mentioned and for some folks that means an extra day off. for a lot of folks it means celebrating with a cocktail or two. that's why law enforcement is again reminding people to designate a driver or find yourself at a dui checkpoint like this one. this is one of the first of the weekend and law enforcement around the bay area says you can expect more to pop up throughout the holiday weekend. san mateo police say they are stopping vehicles at random looking for any signs that the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. they're making sure people have valid driver's licenses. police say they understand it might be an inconvenience for some drivers but it's a great tool to make the roadway safer.

police say checkpoint and stepped up patrols are not enough. they want you to be on the lookout when on the road too. >> we count on the community to be our eyes and ears on the street. if you see someone who appears to be maybe under the influence or driving problem we would encourage you to call us. >> the california highway patrol says last year 117 people arrested for dui over the holiday weekend in the bay area which was down from the previous area and a trend law enforcement hopes will continue this holiday. developing news now, the millbrae on ramp to highway 101 southbound is still closed more than four hours after a big rig crashed, overturned and spilled produce all over the roadway. take a look. the driver now at stan ford after being trapped in the wreckage for nearly an hour. highway 101 near millbrae where the big rig overturned was a mess. it was about 3:00 this morning that big rig lost control. the chp reports that emergency responders had to use the jaws

of life to free that man who was behind the wheel. he was then airlifted to stanford. the good news he was awake and talking with emergency crews. the cleanup effort continues and so does the traffic impact. we can tell you again, the on ramp to southbound 101 still closed at millbrae. we'll let you know when cal trans gives us the all clear. the continuing coverage on the highway construction near at&t park that could make memorial day driving into or out of san francisco less festive. southbound interstate 280 shut down from 6th street to pennsylvania avenuend will have a big impact on giants fans. fans who live on the peninsula or in the south bay used to that easy jump on to 280 near the ballpark found out the hard way those closures are in effect. this is what fans found at 4th and king, closed on ramp which had many fans driving around in heavy traffic look for a detour. the giants did use social media

to discourage fans to avoid driving and avoid that traffic mess and many fans used cal trains to get to the game. they say it was crowded but fun. >> upon hearing this week how casesy the traffic would be and different things going on, construction whatever the case may be, we were informed it would be better to take the train some some giants fans tell us they used cal trains for the first time last night and will never drive to a game again. that's probably a go ahead idea for the next few days. southbound 280 to the pennsylvania on ramp will remain shut down until tuesday morning. go to nbcbayarea.com for complete coverage of the partial interstate 280 closure including the ways you can work your way around it. that's at nbcbayarea.com. and more new details this morning, the gunman who terrorized parts of sbar county on a random shooting spree that claimed the lives of seven people killed himself this morning. the gunman began his deadly rampage near the isla vista

student enclave next to the uc santa barbara campus. the sheriff said what happened this morning was a case of premeditated mass murder the gunman exchanged gunfire with deputies before driving off in a black bmw suv and then crashing into a parked car and shooting himself in the head. the gunman -- the sheriff says the gunman was a severely mentally disturbed man who he believes acted alone. he's not releasing the man's identity yet. deputies did recover a semiautomatic handgun from the suv and in addition to the seven people who were killed, seven other people are in the hospital. there are nine different crime scenes. we will have more on this developing story throughout the day on air and on-line nbcbayarea.com. questions over why it took so long for ebay to let customers know that its system was hacked. the data base was reportedly hacked some time between late february and early march. the company disclosed on wednesday that the personal

information of some of its 145 million customers had been compromised and analysts say that companies get hacked but sometimes wait to see the extent of the damage before they disclose the cyber attack. the fbi is also investigating the attack. meantime california and at least four states have launched an investigation into ebay's business practices. l.a.'s clipper owner the owner of the l.a. clippers, donald sterling, is handing over the team, despite threats to sue the nba, source says that sterling is authorizing his wife shelley to sell the team. the nba banned sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million after the clippers' owner made racist comments captured on tape. owners of the other nba teams will meet in june to vote whether to terminate sterling's ownership. the commissioner has said that he would prefer sterling relinquish ownership voluntarily. still ahead on "today in the bay," the giants swing for the fences against the minnesota

twins and we have the highlight for you coming up next.

let's take a baseball tour around the bay area, shall we? looking live at the oakland coliseum the a's on the road and now to at&t park, looking lovely this start of your memorial weekend. giants at home taking on the red hot minnesota twins in interleague play in a game you saw right here on nbc bay area. san francisco off to a fast start, bottom of the first, sandoval smacks a three-run homer to right and the giants with the early lead. then in the fourth inning, brandon hicks joins the home run

parade with this his eighth of the season. tim lincecum picked up his fourth win, giants win 6-2. nice job there. to toronto where the a's take on the blue jays bottom of the second, former ath ig steve tolleson hits a homer off cashmere. blue jays lead 2-0. oakland cuts the lead down to one in the ninth and had the tying run at third but jed lowry grounds out to end the game. the a's lose a close one, 3-2. still ahead on "today in the bay," fired, then rehired, we investigate how often bay area transit workers get the jobs back after breaking the rules. >> and the view from emeryville shows you some of the patchy low clouds, parts of the bay area waking up this morning, we have a look at a warmer weekend forecast ahead when we come right back.

good morning to you. waking up to sunny skies for at

least most of the bay area with the few exceptions to the rule to the west of san francisco. we got low clouds and emeryville we've had low clouds kind of move across the east bay this morning. the marin layer still about 2,000 feet. the layer of cooler air still significant that will get compressed down during the day tomorrow which will lead to warmer temperatures in our inland valleys and during date for san francisco a mix of those low clouds out towards at&t park, 55 degrees currently with a game time coming up after 7:05, see low 60s, breezy at times today. san francisco mainly 60s today and then our temperatures will be climbing up a little more as you finish off this memorial day weekend. the air ross pointing inland, the onshore winds will back off in strength during the day tomorrow will lead to our temperatures warming up a few more degrees. visibility good, although we have patches of low clouds across the bay for you this morning but down to a half mile at times in half moon bay, mist and drizzle and might find that

around highway 17 towards santa cruz but during the afternoon santa cruz looks good the temperatures climb in the upper 70s to the 80s. satellite view interesting for the pacific northwest where we'll seen see rain at times but high pressure will be strengthening. at times today you have patchy low clouds and marin layer near 2,000 feet during the day tomorrow we'll see that compress down and the low clouds backing away from the coast which will lead for warming to the sea shore. you see the low clouds breaking up as we head towards the afternoon and for tomorrow morning not as many in terms of low cloud cover and may see a patch or two of fog for the morning. bit of a change toward the sierra see right there, those are showers and thundershowers flaring up mid afternoon today, also for tomorrow, so as our temperatures climb up and warm up around the bay area, still enough moisture in the high country into tomorrow to warrant the slight chance of thunder. especially towards yosemite.

probably into monday too you will see that as part of the forecast there. to the bay area today close to 80 in san jose, mid 80s around towards saratoga and morgan hill for the afternoon towards san francisco high in the mid to upper 60s. air quality in san jose with the sea breeze not too bad but again, some of the dust blowing around from the windy conditions over the last couple days maybe not good if you have allergies. ground level ozone not a problem as the onshore winds continue. san francisco 66, we should see low 70s around san francisco tomorrow. mid 80s in san francisco for sunday. sunday looks to be the warmest day for the week ahead, warm into monday and turning cooler towards the middle part of the week. north bay, 80s for fap pa and santa rosa. oakland in the 70s. tri-valley mid 80s. watch the forecast here both for santa rosa and livermore. we'll see those temperatures for tomorrow upper 80s and probably some low 90s and continued warm to hot around livermore into

monday. see that play out in the seven-day forecast. the cooling tuesday and wednesday, sea breeze turning stronger and temperatures cooling down toward the middle part of the week but no signs of any rain in the forecast as we head through the next seven days. >> no one likes a soggy barbecue. thank you. >> no. >> coming up, we investigate the un it in finds out why transit workers fired for serious violations including drug tests are ending up back on the job.

levi stadium opens in august and the valley transportation authority says it will be ready to carry thousands of 49ers fans on trains and busses but insiders are questioning the safety asking why are drivers and train operators fired for serious violations back on the job? investigative reporter vicki nguyen has the story. >> when we first started looking at the numbers, we were astonished at how many employees who are fired from vta get

rehir rehired, sometimes with more than $100,000 in back pay. and wait until you hear what they were fired for in the first place. you're watching video from the on board camera of a vta train last may. the train operator runs a red light and slams into this red prius turning left on a green arrow at first and metro in san jose. >> i need medical now. >> the driver of the prius was seriously hurt and according to the accident report, had to be pulled from the roof of the car. >> some things have happened and it's safety issues. >> reporter: insiders at vta asked to be disguised concerned they would be retaliated against for speaking out about what they call inconsistent discipline of staff that puts safety at risk. >> they need to live up to what they say, safety as a priority. >> reporter: this point to this

operator, vta records show he was fired after the crash and rehired a month late near a different job. prompted by their concerns we asked vta for data showing how many bus drivers, train operators, dispatchers and field supervisors were fired and rehired over the past ten years. these jobs directly affect the safety of 140,000 daily ride percentp we found 22% or roughly one of every five people fired was rehired and all but one ended up in the exact same job. one person was fired and rehired twice in all vta rehired 27 of the 124 people fired. the agency says it's not at fault because the union contract requires vta to rehire anyone who wins a case in arbitration. so we asked, why they were fired to begin with. >> all for safety issues. >> reporter: records show substance abuse violations were near the top of the list. >> do people take the drug policy seriously.

>> vta has one of the most [ inaudible ] drug policies eye know in the country. >> reporter: we obtained this in september. the federal transit administration urged vta to reconsider its drug policy. while many transit agencies offer second chance programs vta offers what may be termed a fifth chance program. the audit says the policy creates a potential safety risk for both the public and vta employees if they're allowed to fail or refuse a drug test multiple times. >> if you do drugs and get caught you'll keep your job. >> reporter: for most of us getting fired means saying good-bye for good. but at vta with you found employees fired for assault of a passenger, theft and multiple accidents and got their jobs back. >> what message does that send to the public? >> well, if we have a public that has no tolerance and says that any time someone has an accident they should lose their job, then it's very hard or difficult to explain to the

public. >> reporter: bob escobar is in charge of administrative services at vta. >> should the public have a tolerance for someone who was using substance when operating a vehicle or falsifying records, exiting fraud or assaulted a passenger? should there be that same level of tolerance? >> on a hypothetical basis it's hard to -- >> these are not hypotheticals. these happened. >> i understand but it's hard to determine what the public's tolerance should be. >> reporter: he says when vta decides to fire someone union rules can require the case to go before an arbitrator. if it's decided vta should not have terminated the employee the agency must rehire that person. >> we have to do the best we can in terms of making sure that when we put a case together, we offer it and we submit it for termination that when it goes between an independent arbitrator that we've done the best we can. >> reporter: how does vta's rehire rate compare with other agencies? we asked around. sfmta didn't rehire anyone it

fired. b.a.r.t. hired back two drivers but into different jobs. only oakland's transit comes close to vta the rehire rate of 21%. but none of those agencies spent as much as vta on back pay. records show vta awarded $635,000 in back pay, including $131,000 to someone fired for substance abuse and $116,000 to someone fired for attendance. vta again points to the union's powerful contract, but insiders say it's supervisors who fail to build strong cases that stick. >> doesn't show that the management has a backbone. >> they will tell you they did the offense but management screwed up on the paperwork and got their jobs back. some say vta doesn't do a good job firing and get rehired on technicalities. >> that may be the case in some instances. >> reporter: insiders say they

have consequences on the riders who trust vta and those that share the roads with these busses and trains. >> it tells the public i can get fired and either in a month or two get rehired and by the way, i'm going to get back pay. that's a safety issue people need to know. >> reporter: we asked transit agencies outside the bay area for their rehire rates. the same jobs. san diego had none, sacramento rehired 1% and l.a. metro rehired 9%. for the drug policy, vta says it is currently in talks with the union. we will let you know if there are changes. vicki nguyen, nbc bay area news. if you have a tip for our investigative unit give us a call at 888-99-tips. still ahead on "today in the bay," walter whose tail has not stopped wagging since he got here.

our friends from pets in need are here. volunteer lisa is here with walter who is either a chug or what do we call it? a pawawa. >> either one. >> he's cute. >> he is adorable and we think he is definitely pug but he has the curl tail and the fash shual structure is more puggy than chihuahua. >> he walked in, a lot of dogs come in and get nervous about the cameras and robots moving and what not. his tail did not stop moving the whole time. >> he is just -- pugs are known for their clownish antics and that personality. and he definitely embodies that. >> look at that face. who are you calling a clown? walter. oh, poor walter. >> makes you laugh. >> yeah. exactly. >> so he is ready to go for his forever home. >> he is. he gets along great with other

dogs. interested in cats but respectful. he could probably share a home with a feline friend or two as well. >> okay. >> kids would be great. >> yeah. >> he's just really a great all-around little dog. >> did you tell us how old he is? >> we think he's probably between 2 and be 3. >> so if you are a new pet owner, this is a good age for you because all of the difficult puppy stuff behind you, but you still have lots of time. >> absolutely. >> together. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much, lisa. >> thank you. >> thank you, walter. oh, why the sour face. this is just how i look. i can't help it. if you want to find out more about walter or the other pets in need, pets in need.org is where you can go. thank you for coming in. >> thank you. >> thanks so much for making us a part of your morning. get more local news with nbc bay area today this time 4:00, 8:00 and 11:00 tonight and, of course any time of day, nbcbayarea.com. have a great morning and we'll see you tomorrow.

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