little bit to go, though. quite extensive marine layer that extends all the way from san francisco to the south bay, even the north bay and tri-valley. widespread cloud cover is the story this morning. otherwise we are looking at a sunny afternoon. even at the coast. sunshine there today. it will be below average. while we'll see the sunshine, it may be a little deceiving. temperatures still warm. jacket this afternoon. a series of storms. keep the storm door open. we're not done with the rains just yet. kind of unusual may pattern shaping up. hey, we'll take the rain whenever we can get it. 40s and 50s for the most part, kira. later this afternoon, below average. temperatures in the 60s. 62 for san francisco. 69 for the tri-valley. 68 for the south bay. meanwhile, north bay, wine country will be the only location that gets into the low 70s. sun coming our way today and more sunshine tomorrow. monday a storm system could bring us some showers. we'll talk about that in a minute. >> and we need it.

but, boy, it's may and now -- >> kind of unusual. >> it is. anthony, thanks. >> yeah. good news now. we begin with the warriors playoff run. for the first time in 39 years, warriors are headed to the western conference finals, led by league mvp, of course, seth curry, who made the shot of the yea year. >> and he's got it! >> i still cannot believe it. seth with the miracle shot to change the momentum of the game at the end of the third quarter. the warriors win 108-95. tough series for the w's but thit paid off. this from the viewing party. >> i've been waiting for 40 years. >> ticket holder tom henderson is one step toward fulfilling a dream, golden state warriors championship. >> i don't want to wait another 40 years. i'm not that young. we're really excited about the

warriors. and tonight's the night. >> reporter: with the 75th season trophy in the house, it's game six and fans are confident their team will win. >> i hate the clippers. i hate l.a. i would like to take blake griffin, send him back in a midsized kia edition. >> reporter: from oakland to liv livermore, loud and proud warriors t-shirts pack the room at sal's barbecue and spirits. >> it's getting very tight. very scary right now. >> reporter: that fright turned into a win for the dubs. the warriors are heading to the western conference championship series. cheryl herd, nbc bay area news. there's really nothing better than making your mom proud, right? warriors star gave his mom a hug before running into the locker room. now one of the warriors' biggest

fans, as can you imagine. she has a will the to be proud of. highlights warrior series clinching wins against the grizzlies. we'll also hear from the players themselves. highlights, introduce, even ticket information all on our nbc bay area app. you can also check out our warriors coverage on our nbc bay area facebook and twitter pages. turning to some different news now, a public works crew in san francisco finds an abused dog during a clean-up operation at a homeless encampment. investigators are now asking for your help finding the abuser. investigators are animal care and control show us the homeless encampment near the 101 on-ramp on south van ness where the dog was found badly beaten, even burned. the dog, nicknamed maximillian hasmying teeth, missing nails and foot pads and internal injuries. police are watching surveillance video hoping to find who did it.

>> it's heart wrenching. a sweetheart of a dog and clearly he went through a horrible ordeal. >> he's suffering from blunt force trauma. so his internal organs are a mess. >> reporter: authorities are hoping that a $500 reward will encourage someone to turn in the abuser. by the way, maximillian is getting care for these life-threatening injuries. down an embankment on to its side with three people trapped inside in oakland yesterday. firefighters secured the van by chaining it to nearby trees so that it wouldn't keep rolling over. three people inside suffered moderate to critical injuries. they were in town for a family member's graduation from cal. and in gilroy, hundreds of people gathered to remember three teenage girls killed in a car crash. it was held at mt. modano high

school where two of the girls were students. fond memories of the girls saying they were the types who would take time to cheer up others on a bad day. >> her laugh was the sweetest laugh ever. >> with this bad time that we're going through, it meant really -- it made us feel very loved. >> the driver of the car the girls were riding in on tuesday night was arrested for felony dui, the only survivor in that car. in just one week, four high school students in gilroy were killed in car crashes. this morning, suspected gang members under arrest in san jose neighborhood finally back to normal. officers raided the apartment. the man ran but they did catch

him. the neighborhood, including a nearby elementary school, was locked down for hours while they searched for that suspect. convicted boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev has been sentenced to death for his role in the marathon bombings. a federal jury voted unanimously yesterday death by lethal injection. and just as he has throughout the process, tsarnaev showed no reaction and no emotion when he learned he would be put to death. the jurors say tsarnaev's lack of remorse helped them make their decision. >> this is an act of terrorism. i feel very gratified and very proud that we were able to show exactly what happened here, provide motive for what actually did happen so that the jury could render a just and fair verdict. >> tsarnaev's defense team is expected to appeal. that could drag out the case for years, if not decades. in the meantime, tsarnaev likely will be sent to death row in

indiana. another new development in the deadly amtrak train derailment. ntsb says one of three conductors on board the train told conductors she heard the engineer say the train had been hit by projectile. investigators do see damage on the left-hand corner of the windshield. fbi has been called in to investigate that. investigators say this new find is noteworthy. moments before tuesday's crash outside philadelphia, another regional train was hit by a projectile, shattering its windshield. >> we have seen damage to the left-hand lower portion of the amtrak windshield that we have asked the fbi to come in and look at for us. >> meanwhile, the engineer had finally told his side of the story. brandon bostian who used to work in the bay area on caltrans said the last thing he remembers is ringing his bell as he left the

philly station. he also said he didn't feel fatigued nor did he report any illness. much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, drugs, alcohol, hazing, going on for decades. now a big punishment for stanford's marching band is next. also in the middle of a drought, why is fresh water being wasted at the demolition site of candlestick park?

welcome back. it's 7:10. cloudy skies to start the day. sunny in marin. most everyone will see sun by the end of the day today. after decades of pushing the envelope, the stanford marching band has been suspended. the university says the band has a culture of drug, alcohol and hazing. the students say this punishment sets a dangerous precedent. "today in the bay's" peggy

bunker has the story. >> reporter: it's not ease toy tell the stanford band to be quiet. in a facebook post the band wrote, to anyone who expect this is to silence us, you haven't gotten the memo. this, after receiving a one-year suspension from all out of town game. >> what did they do this time? >> reporter: the university cited an investigation which revealed the band violated alcohol, drug, hazing and sexual harassment policy. >> they walk a very fine line. i think that's what they've been known for. >> reporter: some stanford sports fan worry that the suspension will affect the athletes. >> there they are, on either side when the football team charges out. i think it will affect them. >> reporter: some say the marching band does get out of hand, citing some cityies where it's banned. >> a couple of cities they got a little crude. i don't think oregon allows them to come to their home games. >> it will be something missing and at the away games, it will be bad when they have a tough opponent. >> reporter: the band promises to fight on saying we won't go

away and we won't stop being weird. peggy bunker, nbc bay area news. . more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, thousands of gallons of freshwater being wasted in the midst of our drought. why this is happening at the demolition site of candlestick park. waking up to cloud cover this morning. it's pretty extensive across san francisco. it's going to be that way across the east bay, tri-valley, south bay as well, as we head through the morning hours. we're back with details of that forecast coming up after this. 

welcome back at 7:14. this is a live look in san rafael. beautiful skies there. most everyone else is seeing cloudy skies this morning. you'll all get sun later. meteorologist anthony slaughter says. controversy now at candle stick park. developers using fresh water instead of recycled water to

keep down dust at the demolition site. leonard corporation admits it's using many gallons of fresh water to spray over the demolition site to keep dust out of the air. angry neighbors say the company should be using recycled water instead. san francisco public utilities commission says the state law requires the use of drinking water for aerial spraying on demolition jobs. >> it's not even just they should not, they are not allowed to use recycled water for controlling of airborne dust. >> recycled water should be used for other purposes like soil compaction. leonard corporation says it will start using recycled water where it is permitted. work on the demolition resumes monday. and speaking of the drought, how do you maintain a baseball field in the midst of one? san francisco state has been testing out a smart irrigation system which allows them to use less water.

"today in the bay's" christie smith shows how they're keeping the field green. >> able to check your programs. >> reporter: keeping the baseball field in shape at san francisco state and he can do it with less water. based on information from an advanced model. >> which is evaporation transfer rate, which tells us how much water is needed. >> how much moisture is in the air and how much moisture supposedly is in the soil. if it reads moisture in the air is high it tells the controller not to water that day. >> reporter: in a computer near maloney field they're watching water use. >> it was able to reduce the budget on maloney field by 30% last year. >> reporter: smart irrigation system can be used with a smart phone, tablet, shut off leaks and be manually cut back. the goal is to have 60 controllers, just part of the

campus plan. >> when the governor's mandate came out about six weeks ago, the university formed a water action committee and we pulled people together from all different parts of the university to really figure out a way to get to our 25% reduction. >> reporter: for the irrigation system they received a grant and other funds. >> we're expecting about a five-year payback through water savings. >> reporter: they'll also be looking at curbing use in academic buildings. outside, though, they believe the smart controller is a good step. christie smith, nbc bay area news. we're checking in now with anthony slaughter with a look at our weekend forecast. you say it's going to be good? >> it's going to be a nice weekend. little chilly considering how we should be this time of year. usually in the 70s by the afternoon. >> a few weeks ago, wasn't it in the 80s? >> yeah, yeah. >> a couple of days ago, we were in the 60s. all over the place here. you know what? this weekend we'll be in a cool place. that's where we're headed. chilly conditions. cloud cover predictions in palo

alto. cloud cover in each and every microclimate this morning from the north bay, into san francisco. tri-valley, even down through the south bay as well. temperatures, not all that bad, at least right now. later this afternoon you'll notice we are expecting a warmer day compared to yest thing abous are in the 70s this time of year. we'll only be in the 60s for most of us today. below average. still nice and sunny. 68 for the south bay. 66 for the peninsula. tri-valley, up to 69. san francisco, cool. 62 degrees. one location i think we'll get in the 70s is the north bay at 72. we always like to tell you what's happening across the bay area here at nbc. of course, the fillmore jazz festival, no stranger to this. happens this time of year every year. headed into the upper 50s later today. and bay to the breakers.

kira. >> yes? >> start of the race. this is typical what we we see. bay to breakers usually -- as we head through the day does warm up a little bit. 11:00, 12:00, only -- yeah, only 60 degrees tomorrow with lots of cloud cover. not the day to opt out on the clothing if you know what i mean. let's talk about the surface map. series of storm systems out across the pacific. this is the first one we're going to encounter for tomorrow. that eventually will make its way toward the coastline tomorrow night into monday morning. that will bring shower activity for us tomorrow night into monday morning as it gets a little bit closer. tomorrow during the day, i think it will be a dry day. if you're doing any traveling up to the sierra, extreme portions of the state, showers and thunderstorms expected there. for us, nothing tomorrow. you'll notice spotty activity off the coastline. that could give us a little bit of light shower activity as we head toward monday morning.

to start off the workweek expect to see light rain across those roadways. we're talking about measurable participation monday morning up to maybe a tenth of an inch in some locations if we do hold steady with this forecast. we move toward the upcoming week, we have a chance for one system on monday. look at this as we head toward tuesday and wednesday, another system out across the pacific starts to form. that doesn't actually make its way here until thursday or friday. this week will actually -- we'll see two systems move through. unfortunately, neither one of them has a lot of moisture to work with. we'll see cool and cloudy conditions for the most part. really the temperatures will stay below average all week long. look at this. 60s all week for the south bay. not a big warming trend headed our way and monday expect that drizzle at the coastline. even though it will be nice and sunny by the afternoon hours, the cool, cloudy conditions will persist at the coastline. san francisco, for example, tomorrow only 60 degrees. monday, 59 degrees with morning

drizzle. you'll notice by tuesday and wednesday, we warm up a little bit. when i mean warm up i mean back to 61. not a huge warming trend this week here. definitely want to make sure you're prepared for the rain coming in monday morning. while it won't be a lot, definitely could cause headaches on those roadways. back to you. >> anthony, thanks. much more ahead on "today in the bay" coming up. if you're just patient, these kids have so much to offer. >> in a league of their own. we'll tell you how the bond between two brothers is bettering the lives of children with special needs through baseball. a story that will make you bay area proud.

welcome back. growing up a sibling of a special needs child can be a challenge. and apparently sometimes it can lead to resentment among brothers and sisters, but not all the time. garvin thomas is here with an example of brotherly love in this morning's bay area proud. >> tyler garby can't say enough good things about his brother,

connor. friendly to a fault, giving, always willing to share. tyler says all he has been trying to do these last six years is just return the favor. you can rarely go wrong with a recipe that includes two of your favorite ingredients. it's a lesson tyler barby has learned, which applies outside the kitchen as well. >> there you go. >> you see, a few years ago, tyler found a way to combine two of his favorite things in life with great results. those being the sport of baseball and his older brother, connor. >> connor is the nicest brother i think that anybody could have. >> tyler never had to adjust to a life with a brother with autism. he was born into that world. but as tyler grew and developed a passion and a talent for baseball, he felt something missing. that, being connor.

>> he couldn't because he gets too easily over stimulated by the environment. >> he decided if the game of baseball wasn't right for his brother then it, not he, had to adapt. which is how tyler, at the age of 11, came to start his very own baseball league, one tailored just for children with special needs. >> i wanted to give connor and, by default other children of special needs, that same sense of community in a less noisy, over stimulating environment. >> ooh, canon. when did you get so strong? >> reporter: six years later, tyler's league is still going strong. each week, tyler pairing his friends with players, to help guide them in the field and at the plate. the children learning baseball.

tyler's buddies learning even more. >> the lesson is that when you are patient and you -- you know, kind of work with them, you'll see that they have so much more than you would think. >> reporter: as for connor, he is no longer a player in the league, but its semi official photographer, busy capturing images of maybe not the best hitting and fielding you'll ever see, but of a level of compassion in a league of its own. tyler's league has been so successful, it's become its own nonprofit, project awareness in special sports or p.a.s.s. it's expanded to four other sports. in addition to baseball it works with more than 100 children each year. garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. >> if you know of someone doing something nice for others, garvin would love to hear from you. go to our website, nbcbayarea.com and search bay

area proud. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, the new drug test that requires just the touch of your finger. also -- >> i'm sam brock. the right to vote arguably our most important freedom. does it come with a price tag in one bay area community? modern day poll tax. that's what one politician's concern is. coming up next in reality check.

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7:29 on saturday morning. look at cloudy skies over san jose. but sunny skies are on the way on this saturday. good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm kira klapper. anthony slaughter has a look at that microclimate forecast for us. >> cloudy, drizzle at the coastline, the sunol grade. our picture from the sunol grade. fogged in this morning. little drizzle there. cloud cover is pretty extensive this morning.

we are going to get rid of it pretty soon. in fact, at the coastline starting to see sunshine up to the north bay and even in the south bay, sunny conditions later on. this is a shot from the cesar chavez park yesterday. fountains are going now. i love when they turn on the fountains. treat for the kids as well. cool and cloudy, especially at the coastline. we could see measurable precipitation as soon as monday morning. meanwhile, dry weekend, temperatures in the 60s for the most part. warm spot today in the north bay, 72. cool at the coastline. 62 for san francisco. mid to upper 60s. below average for this time of the year. looking at some of the data last year this time of year we were in the 90s. >> whoa! >> what a difference a year makes. >> it really does. even a few weeks, in the 80s a few weeks. i want to show off the beautiful weather to my friends visiting from seattle. >> and it's cool and cloudy. >> and it's cool and cloudy,

yeah. >> you never know what you're going to get in the bay area. >> never know. anthony, thanks. warriors playoff run for the first time in 39 years, heading to the western conference finals. here is the team after they landed this morning at oakland international airport. and no surprise here. last night's win was led by the mvp, seth curry. >> curry the other way. and he's got it! >> i still can't believe my eyes. that was the shot of the postseason. seth curry made a miracle basket from three-quarters court. and when you're hot, you're hot. that shot propelled the warriors to win against memphis. 108-95. fans went wild already with their sites set on the next playoff series. >> i hate the clippers. i hate l.a. i would like to take blake griffin, send him back in a mid-sized kia edition. >> tell us how you really feel. western conference finals begin at oracle arena tuesday night.

tickets go on sale today. full highlights and we'll hear from the team in a few minutes from now. highlights, interviews, ticket information. we've got it all on our digital platforms. down our free nbc bay area app or warriors coverage on our facebook and twitter page. taking a hard turn now. public works crew in san francisco found an abused dog during a cleanup operation at a homeless encampment. authorities are asking for your help to find the abuser. animal care and control near the 101 on-ramp near van nuys and san francisco. missing teeth, missing foot pads and nails and internal injuries. they're handing out fliers and watching surveillance video, hoping to find who did it. >> heartwrenching. he's a sweetheart of a dog. and clearly he went through a

horrible ordeal. >> he has burns on his body, suffering from blunt force trauma. so his internal organs are a mess. >> authorities hope a $500 reward will encourage someone to turn in the abuser. m maximilion, by the way, is getting treatment for these life-threatening injuries. >> hundreds of people gather approximated at mt. modano high school. they were the type of friends who took the time to cheer up other students on a bad day, friends say. >> her laugh was the sweetest laugh ever. >> with this bad time that we're going through, it meant really -- it made us feel very loved. >> the driver of the car that was girls were riding in on tuesday night was arrested for

felony dui. in one week four high school students in gilroy were killed in car crashes. convicted boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev has been sentenced to death for his role in the marathon bombings. federal jury voted unanimously yesterday death by lethal injection. just as he has throughout the process, tsarnaev showed no reaction and no emotion when he learned he would be put to death. the jurors say tsarnaev's lack of remorse helped them make this decision. >> this is an act of terrorism. i feel very gratified and very proud that we were able to show exactly what happened here, provide motive for what actually did happen so the jury could render a just and fair verdict. >> his defense team is expected to appeal. that could drag out the case for years if not decades. tsarnaev likely will be sent to death row in indiana. deadly amtrak train derailment.

ntsb says one of three conductors on board the train told investigators she heard the engineer say the train had been hit by a projectile. investigators say they see damage on the left-hand corner of the windshield. the fbi has been called in to investigate that. and investigators say that new find is note worthy because moments before tuesday's crash outside philadelphia, another regional train was hit by a projectile, shattering its windshield. >> we have seen damage to the left-hand lower portion of the amtrak windshield that we have asked the fbi to come in and look at for us. >> meanwhile, engineer has finally told his side of the story. brandon bostian who used to work in the bay area on caltrain said the last thing he recalls is ringing his bell as he left the

philly train station. he did not feel fatigued nor reported any illness. caltrans is being taken to court. right through silicon valley, one of the busiest stretches in the bay area. between 87 and san jose and 280 in cupertino. cities of cupertino and saratoga say it would increase noise along the corridor. saratoga's mayor said they're ready to prove that in court and want caltrans to come up with other options. caltrans, however, shows a tolling wouldn't increase noise pollution. they're ready to move forward with the plan to build the toll lane. 7:36 right now. much more ahead on "today in the bay." the warriors advance to the western conference finals. we'll go back and hear from the stars of the game.

welcome back. this is the site of the oracle arena. warriors will play the winner of the clippers and rocket series. that game is tomorrow. while the rockets and clippers will play a winner take all seven game tomorrow, warriors will get much-need rest thanks to their game six win in memphis last night. started strong. first quarter, giving golden state an early 12-point lead seth curry's turn for a triple of his own. they led by nine at the half. third quarter, memphis fights back. jeff green hits the jumper and the warriors are down to one. then there was this. with time winding down, seth heaves it in from 62 feet to

beat the buzzer. unbelievable. dubs go on to win it 108-95. more from memphis. >> reporter: always remember seth curry's three-quarter court shot, devastating, sucks the wind out of memphis' run. this series was about team. role players stepping up, second unit stepping up. ball movement trusting each other and commitment to defense. >> we were just mentally focused and tough. and understood what it took to win against this team. >> a couple of days of rest, get our minds right, away from the game a little bit and know -- study your opponent. >> at this point it's phenomenal. we're thankful to be here. we also know we have a lot of work left to do. >> this was a big win for the warriors as they continue in their playoff run. remember, this is steve kerr's

first year as coach. after the game i spoke with him. he shared we'll take that momentum into the western conference finals, first time they've been there since 1976. in memphis, nbc bay area. much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, detecting drug use with a single finger print. across the coastline, fog is pretty extensive. we're seeing sunshine as well. how warm it will be this weekend coming up when "today in the bay" returns. (music) hey! let me help with that. oh, thank you! (music)

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one th...one that's going somewhere. uh, like i, i take them where they're going and they buy me chevron with techron. i mean, yeah, you know, what can i say, i'm a, i'm a romantic. [ male announcer ] your car takes care of you, care for it. chevron with techron. care for your car. alright, now i just look desperate. welcome back now. 7:43 is the time. this image from tahoe. yes, fresh powder we saw fall over the past couple of days. they picked up two feet of snow in places like kirkwood. unfortunately, the ski season is over. wouldn't you know? still a beautiful shot here from the folks up there. now at home right now, we don't

have any showers on the radar. nonetheless, snow falling across tahoe. things are finally starting to dry out across most of the state. pretty big storm system impact all of california this past week. you'll notice cloud cover pretty extensive from the north bay to the south bay. every location waking up to cloud cover this morning. later this afternoon, we'll get rid of the clouds, see sunshine. temperatures are going to be chilly. especially considering this time of year, most of us are in the 70s. only hit 68 today in the south bay, 66 for the peninsula. tri-valley up to 69. san francisco will be chilly. 62 degrees expected there. meanwhile north bay, one of our warmer locations today, 72 degrees expected there. on the surface map we have a series of storm systems expected to move through the bay area this upcoming week. the first one will arrive tomorrow night, bringing showers for the monday morning commute. next one won't arrive until later on this upcoming week. let's talk about the first one expected to move through. that will increase our cloud

cover. in the city tomorrow expect cloudy conditions most of the day. tomorrow night is when we'll start to see those first showers move in. i think tomorrow afternoon, if you're doing any traveling perhaps in the sierra, up toward northern california, you may run into showers and thunderstorms. for us here at home, i don't think we'll actually see that rain until after the sun goes down tomorrow night. it will be very spotty. not a widespread rain event. that will happen monday morning as this system skirts along the coastline. not a big rain event but we'll see a little bit of drizzle santa rosa, napa. closer to the coastline, peninsula, south bay, we'll have a better chance of seeing measurable precipitation up to a tenth of an inch of rainfall. great news with that system that came through this past week, it really did a number on clearing out air quality. we've got a great air quality this week -- this weekend, i should say, and into next weekend as well. pollen levels have come down as

well. great news on all accounts here this weekend across the state of california. now the first system, as i mentioned, will move through monday. it moves out of here tuesday. we'll see more sunshine tuesday and wednesday. next storm system will move through thursday and friday and could offer a slight chance of shower activity, at least right now. computer models not depicting any chance of rain at least with that system. first one will come through, give us light showers monday morning. afternoon hours, we'll clear out. temperatures in the 60s this week. stanford, livermore, close to 70 each and every day. coastline this week, really going to be chilly. temperatures near 60 degrees each and every day with morning drizzle expected monday with maybe even some light showers and again as we head toward wednesday and thursday. really, kira, unusual pattern. h hey, we need the rain. we'll take it, right? >> we'll take whatever we can get, anthony. thanks. much more on "today in the bay" coming up. the freedom to vote.

is it always free? one politician says it could cost you in the south bay. we look into it in tonight's reality check. good morning. i'm mike inouye. lots to do "today in the bay." largest gathering of asian-pacific americans in the nation starting at 11:00. san francisco civic center plaza, you can join in and be part of it with their arts and crafts market. highlighting culture from all over asia and the pacific islands. wear your cultural attire proudly to add to that visual tapestry. being in california, part of our local culture is roping and rangel iran wrangling. it's family bicycling rodeo in hayward. certified instructors help kids hone their safety skill with his safety drills and parents can join them on a half hour riding

course. folks like to say the family that rides together thrives together. from the rodeo in hayward, heading west to anotherous am ride on the farm, being the nickname for stanford university in palo alto. health matters conference. stand ford school of medicine's community day. even a program for high schoolers called med school morning. i just found out it's all booked up. i also know there will be life-like choppers there. they are letting folks jump on board. that's a really cool opportunity on board that chopper. remember to join me monday morning for my look at your commute from the ground, of course, or from our chopper here on "today in the bay."

simply checking the tips of your fingers. that's what scientists say they can do, use just your fingertips to determine if you've been using drugs like cocaine. people who use cocaine excrete components of the drug which can be picked up by fingerprinting. if perfected, it could provide a simpler, less invasive way for drug testing. the way we vote is changing, choosing to vote by mail could end up costing you, which has some bay area politicians calling for a change.

what exactly are the costs? and are they unfair to voters? some say they're just like a poll tax. >> a lot of people vote by mail. in the precincts where it's required the county pays the postage. in most cases the voter chooses to send in a ballot and pays a postage, which is around a buck. is that strikingly similar to the battle days as supervisor joe simideon recently suggested? board of supervisor meetings are not generally known for their thunderous excitement. half the time you don't have any clue what they're talking about. joe simideon perked up some ears talking about postage on mail-in ballots. >> 91 cents, you know, striking close to the dollar that used to be charge as the poll tax. >> he has reason to be concerned. nearly seven out of ten voters

in santa clara county vote by mail. does postage equal poll tax? time for a short history lesson. poll tacks was a post slave ry, disenfranchising mostly african-americans, some poor whites. the practice was banned in the 1960s. jump back now to present day. thanks to debate over voter i.d. laws and in santa clara county, mail-in ballots, fear of modern day voter discrimination is alive and well. uc berkeley's law school said simideon's comparison is not a fair one. >> they're very different, it seems to me, in terms of their origin and their object. >> reporter: the object being to keep certain voters out of the polls with a tax that would now be the equivalent of $13 to $15, a significant sum. simideon says the postage was

never intended to keep voters out but that, he says, is also not the point. >> look, i think there's a fundamental question here. do we want to charge people when they exercise their right to vote? i think the answer to that question is and should be no. >> as for the postage policies practical impact, minority groups, he points out, still face more obstacles. 10% lives below the poverty line with a rate almost double that for blacks and hispanics. >> that's 180,000 people. so, even if it's just two or three bucks to folks who are trying to make their rent, trying to decide whether or not they can make a trip to the grocery store, do you really want to say that's the price of voting? >> he said he would like the voting costs gone, too, but the postage poll tax comparison takes on another layer of meaning. >> they have a danger of diluting the importance of the poll tax and what it actually

meant. >> to many people a poll tax symbolized a targeted attempt to deny a basic right to some voters. in that sense, no, the santa clara county postage is not a poll tax. where both men agree is this, constitutional right to vote should not come with a price tag and the santa clara county board of supervisor also examine this june. that's this edition of reality check. back to you. much more ahead on "today in the bay." speaking of voting, former presidential candidate steps in the ring with a five-time world champion. why mitt romney is in there next.

looking for one of these?

yoplait. smooth, creamy, and craved by the whole family. welcome back. former gop presidential candidate mitt romney is fighting to improve health care in poor neighborhoods by literally stepping into the boxing ring. first opponent, five-time heavy

weight champion, evander holyfield. they mixed it up to raise money for charity vision, nonprofit company dedicated to providing medical equipment to clinics for vision screening. friday night's fight raised an estimated $1 million. anthony says it will be chilly. but the party runs on 100 years later. bay to breakers is tomorrow morning. it kicks off at 8:00 am near the embak embarcader embarcadero. traffic, of course, will be a mess with all the runners and watchers and all the road closures. if you would like a full list of those, head to nbcbayarea.com and search bay to breakers. i'll be running the seven miles. >> with a costume? >> diet coke can on with my friends visiting from seattle. >> a mystery issas to what i am. you have to wait and see.

>> i cannot wait to see what you're going to be. thank you so much for joining us, for making us part of your morning. we'll have more local news for you tonight at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00.

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