♪ there's never a bad time to enjoy my newest sauced & loaded curly fries. both topped with slow-smoked bacon. ♪ get both, only at jack in the box. now at 4:30, a tale of two states. california still under some of the strongest covid restrictions, while florida is virtually open. which strategy is more effective? this morning we're comparing the data. plus -- >> some of the things we've seen in chinatown has been alarming to all of us. >> dealing with hate crimes, the pandemic and budget cuts. only on "today in the bay," oakland's new police chief opens up about the struggles he's already facing and what the future has in store. and as many exit the bay area, one city is issuing a key reason to stay. the cash now being offered up for home buyers as "today in the

bay" starts right now. a very good wednesday morning to you. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. covid cases are dropping across the country, as states take different approaches to fighting thet can we learn from comparing the curves of say california and florida? "today in the bay's" ian cull has a closer look. >> reporter: california has had among the strictest lockdowns in the country. >> we are announcing and introducing a regional stay-at-home order. >> reporter: compared to florida, where there's video after video of little mask wearing and a push to keep as much open as possible. >> we've lifted our state up. we saved our economy. >> reporter: but in the last few weeks both are seeing similar improvements, when you look at case numbers. about a month ago, california peaked at 56 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents. florida peaked at 35. now they're similar. as for total covid cases, california has about 8,600 per

100,000 people, florida about 8,400. florida was hit harder per capita during the first spike they're pretty similar considering california's population is nearly double. they hope health leaders look at numbers and realize we don't need more lockdowns. >> we need routine, some normalcy in our life and every time we do a shutdown, it effects everybody, mentally, physically, financially. >> reporter: linda do owns blossom nail spa. she opened two weeks ago after she was forced to hut her fors for two months. she's taken on more debt and struggled to keep staff. >> some employees can't stay here, work for a couple months and be shut down again. >> reporter: at trudy's brides next door, many clients are of the brides go to arizona to get married because their

california weddings have been canceled. >> reporter: do lockdowns work? it did the first time. the second and third not so much. >> i would have preferred if we used principles of interventions, mask, distancing and ventilation, applied those but still allowed some openings, some socialization which would have led to less pandemic fatigue which ended up hurting us over the holiday season. >> reporter: ian cull, "today in the bay." marijuana industry workers have been on the job during the pandemic and can join the line for a vaccine, a move that comes as california teachers association is releasing new ads calling for vaccines for all educators. the change in the state vaccine allocation guidelines, raising eyebrows. cannabis industry workers are now in tier 1a. united cannabis business association advocated for the

change. >> what we're trying to do is make sure that we be in line it get vaccinated and if we're up, you know what i'm saying we're deemed as essential, we should be able to get vaccinated and make sure all my staff is protected. >> not everyone agrees. some school board members even tweeting out the decision doesn't make sense. there are new websites popping up to help you make a vaccine appointment that includes my turn, and covid shot finder. what the founders are calling a one-stop shop site, similar to the nbc news initiative and plan your vaccine tells you how and where and when to get your vaccine. there's an interactive murvacci. san francisco and los angeles are below the case scho reopen but neither is making headway. l.a. county on average the rate

right now is 20 per 100,000, and in san francisco it is reported by "the chronicle" it's under 15. anything over 25 cases over five days schools can reopen provided they have plans approved. like san francisco, l.a. schools are hashing out things with the union over returning without vaccinations. the process is essentially at a standschool. haywood students considered housing insecure. according to the "east bay times" that amounts to one-tenth of the 21,000 students. school leaders aper set on delaying any larger return to the classroom this school year despite recent falling case numbers. "the times" reports elementary students in contra costa's moraga school district are starting hybrid learning. anger and fear, that is the feeling in oakland's small chinatown community as merchants and residents are dealing with the uptick in violent crime.

a spotlight is on the problem, oakland's new police knows it and says he is dealing with. "today in the bay's" cheryl hurd spoke exclusively with chief armstrong about the violence against asian seniors, a spike in homicides, sideshows and how he plans to turn it around. >> some of the things we've seen in chinatown has been alarming to all us of. >> reporter: alarming because we've seen attacks on asian seniors and what's more alarming, chinatown merchants are arming themselves and fighting back. last night a liquor store owner at ninth and franklin fired a warning shot when he saw someone getting robbed. >> we just asking people not to attempt to take these things into their own hands. i've been making my presence known in chinatown and making some adjustments and getting resources out there. i'm also doing the same in east oakland as well. >> reporter: where we caught up with oakland's police chief leronne armstrong. >> this week has been a difficult week. >> reporter: with only eight days under his belt as the top

cop, chief armstrong is focused on being chief for the entire city. >> i understand all of the incidents that are happening in chinatown but i also understand the incidents that continue to happen throughout our city. >> reporter: 18 people have been killed in oakland this year, compare that to only three the same time last year. >> i think the pandemic has taken a huge toll on the normal ways in which we address violence. i think it's also exacerbated, anxiety in our community has led to normal confrontations that we weren't used to seeing result in violence. >> reporter: a cease-fire prevention unit where officers meet with people before trouble happened had to be cut because of covid and budget cuts. the city slashed $15 million from the department's overtime spending, which he says is hampering the department's ability to keep the peace. the sideshow problem is also on richmond and san francisco and all the way to fremont and san jose so really working with

other law enforcement agencies so we all could come together to combat sideshows. >> reporter: easier said than done especially when they're faced with a community outcry of defunding the police, something he doesn't agree with. >> i believe that there's somebody who can do something better than police, then they should be funded and supported. >> reporter: chief armstrong is getting support from his community. >> for sure, all right. hello, how you doing? >> good, how are doing? >> i'm good, blessed. >> i'm 100% sure he is. i think he got this. >> reporter: cheryl hurd, "today in the bay." san francisco is trying to first-time home buyers make it in mayor's office has an assistant program offering $27 million in loans for low income first time home buyers. down payments to teachers and first responders. the lottery system will be used to choose 80 people for the aid. time to look at the

forecast, see how things are shaping up, we're midweek already on this wednesday morning. we'll check the commute as well in a bit. good morning, kari. >> [ muted ] >> sounds like we're having trouble hearing kari this morning. maybe we'll jump back with her in a little bit and look at what to expect. mike? >> the top words there said "nice day" and that's what i care about right now, a nice day for traffic. a live look at the golden gate bridge, we'll see the clear view coming across the span. the reason we checked that camera, there's not a lot of traffic, but there was a lot of slowing so as we show you the map on the left side, 101 traveling north or south from san francisco was quite slow, just a few minutes ago, we're back to green there. some debris alcosta on 680 got reported we'll track that as well. overall it's green sensors. back to you. >> thanks, mike.

4:39. ramping up, i recall push of governor gavin newsom. still ahead on "today in the bay" the growing number of voters in contra costa county showing their support on the issue. and as part of our black history month series, we honor a transgender activist known to many in the area, honey mo hag know is a drag queen, born in san francisco, first contestant to sweet on ru paul's "drag race." mahogany co-founder of the first transgender league in the world, elected to the democratic county central committee making the first time a black transgender woman has won an elected post in california. we salute you, honey mahogany.

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good wednesday morning. right now at 4:42, as we look ahead to our day, it's going to be a nice one, temperatures warming up, and we're looking forward to some showers moving in for the forecast on friday. next week spring arrives but you won't see it on the calendar. it will feel like it and we're dealing with dense fog across the north bay and the tri-valley. we'll talk about the rest of the forecast coming up in a few minutes. wall street is set to open slightly lower this morning, following a mixed session yesterday. the dow closing in at a record high for the eighth time this year but the s&p and nasdaq both slipped a bit. apple weighing on the tech-heavy

nasdaq. energy stocks rising more than 2%. natural gas prices on the rise, the wake of the deep freezef pe texas, in the dark and with no heat. in mow cuss today reports on retail sales, producer prices and industrial production. jetblue is getting ready to change fees on fares following similar moves on other airlines but the announcement comes with a catch. passengers in basic economy class will not be allowed to bring a carry-on bag on. the new restriction goes into effect for flights beginning july 20th. for airline tickets bought after february 25th, people flying in blue basic can still bring a small personal item that will fit under the seat. anything else must be checked with a fee of $35 for the first bag and $45 for the second. ihop canceling national pancake day this year citing health and safety concerns for customers and workers but the chain is offering an iou turning it into a month-long chance to get a free stack of buttermilk

pancakes. be existing myhop club member. coupons can be redeemed for pancakes in person or orders through the website or app. with your cnbc morning business report, i'm brian sullivan. >> i don't know, he had me at pancakes there, marcus. >> same here. coming up, more fallout. >> next on "today in the bay," the charges the captain of the deadly boat fire is facing.

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a very good wednesday morning to you. taking a peek outside early, 4:47, overlooking san jose. nice start to our day. kari's got a look at our forecast. earlier you had that banner that said "nice day." it's already a nice start. >> yes, at least for some of us. i wanted to show you what's still happening elsewhere across the country where we've been tracking all of that very cold air and now another snowstorm hitting texas and moving over toward parts of the mid south and midwest, so we're going to see that in the headlines again today, additional snowfall along with these frigid temperatures that have not yet budged, and it may take several days before they get a chance to warm up and allow that snow and ice to melt. we'll continue to follow that. i wanted to show you what we're seeing right now, and it's not a whole lot in parts of the tri-valley, because visibility

is down to about a quarter of a mile. we've also seen that around napa, parts of north bay up around sonoma county as well and we're going to see cold temperatures coming along with that fog, in the tri-valley your commute this morning, temperatures only in the upper 30s, as you try to make your way to work, and we've seen visibility once again down to a quarter of a mile, about three-quarters of a mile in napa, so just watching out for that, for the start of the day, but take a look at how nice it's going to be later this afternoon, reaching into the mid-60s, a little bit warmer than yesterday and we'll get some sunshine. we'll be back for later this afternoon. now as we go into tomorrow, rain expected for friday morning. a quick shot of some scattered showers passing by, clearing out for friday afternoon, and then another round of some light rain early on saturday morning, but most of us are only looking at about a few hundredths of an inch of rain for areas south of the golden gate bridge.

farther to the north, we could see a little more than 0.1 of an inch of rain which is not a lot but it is something and we go back to some dry weather so i'm tracking that for you. mike, how is it looking? i know the tri-valley is going to have some problems this morning. >> yes, kari, we're going to show folks again and i'll warn the control room, i know we can't see much from the camera, if anything at all but this is what kari is talking about in the tri-valley once again. this is your visibility from our rooftop camera near the b.a.r.t. station. let's look at the map. we've circled the area where it is talking about it there. it doesn't show up on our road weather index but a little build out of the altamont headed through the dim visibility at times. on the roadway it's e above the roadway to see. the down and through the south bay, we're at the speed limit. back to you. >> thanks so much, mike. new this morning, a bill sitting on governor newsom's desk offering a similar plan as last year for this year's

election day. everyone will again receive mail-in balance the los. this is so-called off year, midterm battles but looking more like californians will be weighing a measure to recall governor newsom. recent polls indicate about 35% of voters support the idea. nbc station in sacramento independently asked counties for valid signature totals which the secretary of state may update this week. contra costa county has about 10,000, sacramento 27,000. 1.5 million ballot signatures are needed to qualify with the deadline one month from today. the captain of the southern california dive boat that burned in a deadly overnight fire, back in 2019, he has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. the captain faces 34 counts, one for each person who died. some were from the bay area. that boat caught fire off the channel islands trapping divers sleeping below. the captain failed to post a night watch.

each count carries a potential ten-year prison term. a follow-up now the man accused of attacking a giant tortoise at a san jose preschool is expected to be arraigned today. police say 40-year-old george s. police say shortly after the initial attack at the end of january, he broke into the same school again. robles is facing vandalism and animal abuse charges. in just a few hours, people who have seen some of the worst damage from recent north bay wildfires plan to meet with pg&e. the utility plans to talk about its plans on preventing more fires from happening in the future to residents of napa and lake counties. last week, the state department of food and agriculture released its so-called crush report about the upcoming grape harvest. the 2020 yield hit a low not seen in a decade in part due to impact from wildfire smoke. foothills park on the peninsula may get a name change. "the mercury news" reporting the

palo alto city council considering changing the park's name adding new fees and restrictions. councilmembers are looking to create a $6 entry fee, the number of people allowed in to 400. the park now closed on weekends and holidays during peak hours. if approved, the new rules would start in march. on a mission to mars. next on "today in the bay" -- we will look at a nasa engineer behind the rover project, opening up about his career and the challenge action the team faced with developing perseverance. happening now, an eruption at europe's highest and most active volcano, currently no threat to villages nearby. streams of hot lava seen flowing from mt. etna. an airport in sicily forced to close due to the explosion now back open.1992. 4:52. we'll be right back.

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welcome back. new this morning, an earthquake warning system is about to roll out to our north. the u.s. geological survey says its app shake alert will soon be available in oregon and washington by may. shake alert warns people of significant quakes in the area and calculates magnitude. the app was established in california two years ago and it's been used here ever since. happening today, you can now see theatest mars rover uchdown on the red planet. the perseverance rover launched last july and nasa will livestream the landing at 9:30 our time. one man helping make the landing possible is mechanical engineer bill allen you see there. he actually started at nasa in the mailroom 40 years ago then

climbed the ladder and now an engineer. he helped design the last four mars rovers including the "perseverance" which has a helicopter. >> a lot of folks are interested in how well we could perform flying a helicopter in an atmosphere of mars, and so we're about to find out. there's a lot to be done, but i will be happy at landing. >> we all will, mr. allen. he goes on to say never limit your thinking and if you are willing to work and take chances, you can achieve great things. so true. it's a "today in the bay" exclusive. next on "today in the bay," vice president kamala harris gives her first big interview since taking office. whatbout the administration's covid relief plan and immigration. plus, feeling the pressure of the pandemic, meet the young students who are struggling to learn at home. 4:57. we'll be right back.

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new immune twenty-four hour plus has longer lasting vitamin c. plus, herbal and other immune superstars. only from nature's bounty. by next christmas, i think we'll be in a very different circumstance. >> now at 5:00, his first town hall as commander in chief. president biden setting some big goals for getting the country back to normal. and vice president kamala harris giving her first big interview since taking office. what she's telling us in an nbc exclusive. the vaccine rollout, facing new road blocks but that's not stopping a new bay area mass vaccination site from opening today.

a live report on that and the new state resource tracking available doses. and ongoing misery from an unprecedented winter storm, bringing record cold to much of the nation. the latest on the power crunch impacting millions of people. all of that, plus meteorologist kari hall tracking what's in store for us here at home as "today in the bay" continues right now. a good-looking live view out there on this wednesday morning. good morning to you. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. president biden today starts a new push for an infrastructure spending bill in hopes to create millions of jobs. a live look at the white house where the president is expected to meet later today with labor leaders. >> last night, he attended a town hall in milwaukee, wisconsin. this was his first official visit anywhere since taking office. he promised to get more children back to school giving more vaccines to teachers. >> teachers and the folks who work in the schools,