control debate is roaring back. this morning, democrats and the president demanding the senate take up bills passed by the house to close background check loopholes. republicans say no deal. a live report from washington is next on where the latest debate goes from here. check your mailbox or your bank account if you're still waiting for your latest stimulus payment. new deliveries are in full swing, but what happens if you don't get yours just yet? we'll have the answer coming up. kind of a double-edged sword. it's exciting but not used to it. it's been a long time. >> i think as long as people still wear the masks and do the social distancing. >> open, open, open. the bay area's two largest cities, san jose and san francisco, waking up in the orange tier, expanding businesses even allowing more offices to reopen, but what about the east bay? third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. and it's wednesday morning, and good morning to you. thanks for making us a part of

your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. we'll have a check of your forecast and commute coming up in eight minutes. let's start out withll of these reopenings. bob redell is live in pleasanton. people living in the east bay are wondering when it's their turn. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. alameda county will be at least another week. contra costa county won't be able to move from red to orange until april 4th at the earliest. those county health departments making those announcements at their respective county board meetings yesterday. why so long for contra costa? a county must maintain the same rate or lower of reported infections for three weeks before moving into the next tier. so contra costa and alameda right now are both in the red tier. contra costa is at day ten in the red tier, 11 more days to 21 or three weeks, that would bring them to april 4th. today, marin, sf and santa clara counties join san mateo in the orange tier, so now in those

counties, gyms can open up to 25% capacity inside, movie theaters, zoos, museums, restaurants can open up at 50% capacity indoors. but some health officials say just because you go inside, doesn't mean you should. doctors we spoke -- >> recently, not restaurants are created equal, so i'd still prefer those with good ventilation, if i'm going to a restaurant, i'd probably want to sit by a window, even though i'm vaccinated. >> i'm going to prioritize, i'm fully vaccinated. i'll pick the things that are most important for me to do and do those things and that for me is getting together with my son and daughter-in-law and granddaughters. >> reporter: as you can see on this map of the bay area, solano, when they will go orange. reporting live here in downtown pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thanks, bob. developing right now in washington, the gun control debate suddenly once again front and center. this comes after two rampages

less than a week apart. the gun control supporters argue like before, lawmakers on capitol hill are responding as predicted. "today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington and tracie, poll after pistol has shown americans want this change but is it for likely to happen now? >> it's not clear, marcus. we've been down this road before, right, where people are shocked and outraged and they push washington to do something and there is a lot of talk and nothing until the next person gets killed. democrats and republicans have been fighting over this for years and we're already starting to see some of those same arguments. in the wake of monday's grocery store shooting in colorado, where ten people died -- >> tragic. it's absolutely tragic. >> reporter: and last week's spa killings in atlanta with eight victims, there are renewed calls

in washington for gun control. >> these despicable acts of violence should need to be condemned for what they are, but the legislative solutions have been perplexing. >> reporter: lawmakers frustrated by their own failure to act. >> inaction by this congress makes us complicit. >> every time there's a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater. >> we are numb to the numbers unless we are personally touched, it's just another statistic. that has got to stop. >> reporter: the house of representatives has passed two bills expanding background checks. their future uncertain in the senate, where one democrat senator joe manchin opposes them. it would take him and ten republicans to become law. >> the united states senate, i hope some are listening, should immediately pass the two house passed bills that close loopholes in the background check system. >> reporter: president biden is also calling on congress to ban assault weapons and high

capacity magazines, but lawmakers haven't approved significant gun laws in 30 years. instead, flags fly at half staff and makeshift memorials with no solutions to prevent this from happening again. now the numbers here really tell the story. we are now more than 20 years out from the columbine school shooting and since then, there have been 114 mass shootings in this country, marcus, and among them, more than 1,300 victims. >> a lot of people thought you would see something after sandy hook but here we are again. tracie, thank you. it's 6:05. if you haven't received your stimulus check just yet, the latest $1,400 stimulus payments keep your eye on your mailbox. more are distributed starting today. majority are coming in paychecks

or prepaid debit cards. additional direct deposits are expected today. 100 million have already arrived. vaccine distribution ramping up across the u.s. the federal government is distributing 27 million doses, 5 million more than last week. it comes with covid cases again on the rise, these are the states you see right here in the red that are seeing at least 10% increase over the last week and you can see california luckily not on that list. if you want to know where to get that vaccine, you can go to planyourvaccine.com. you go there, enter your state, age and occupation it will give you information to one of those sites. >> 6:06. more students on the peninsula returning to the classroom today. san mateo unified will welcome back high school students. every student who opted for in-class learning should be back by next monday. palo alto online schools will gradually drop the hybrid model next month. elementary students return to

in-class learning five days a week in phases. with city college in san francisco facing a $33 million budget shortfall, happening today one state community college teachers group is holding virtual hearing, leaders hope to assist the school in utilizing covid relief funds to avoid drastic cuts. right now the school is laying off nearly 200 teachers and staff. ccsf enrollment during the pandemic has fallen from 85,000 to 55,000 students. contra costa county now boosting protections for tenants struggling to make it in the bay. supervisors have extended the eviction moratorium through the end of june. they unanimously passed that ordinance last night, it applies extends the payback rent to the end of august. residential tenants are protected from eviction through the end of june. now a live look for you. let's see where we're going. yep, san jose, you can see right

there, you know what? we got a nice day ahead. 70 degrees out there. hmm, doesn't that sound good? meteorologist kari hall has been tracking that and kari, we even have some 80s on the way this week? >> yes, very close to it. it's going to be quite a bit warmer going into the weekend, and we're even feeling some milder weather starting out this morning, with some upper 40s and low 50s, even some upper 50s in fairfield and napa, where those winds are still gusting, keeping those temperatures up. as we look at san jose, the winds will calm down today and we're going to see a few clouds in the mix but look at these temperatures reaching into the upper 60s here for the middle of the afternoon and once again, a few spots reaching up to 70 degrees, even 72 in concord, 70 in napa and martinez reaching 70 degrees. i think that's about perfect, and it will get even warmer for that weekend, we'll talk more about that coming up in a few minutes. mike, any problems right now for the morning commute? >> kari, no problems.

we will take you out to the bay bridge toll plaza, we're right on schedule as we called, there's a backup, brake tapping, just starting as we approach 610. the middle lanes are the first to see the slowing and the brake taps. the incline slows a tad bit there as well and not looking at any major problems out of the maze. the map shows you the same thing, the arrow shows the sensors where there's slowing just past where we saw the live camera and slowing on the decline, that really is the cue to when they need to meter traffic on the bay bridge. the tri-valley shows the typical pattern, maybe lighter than the last half hour and in san jose i circled the earlier slowdown, the first burst is over. we'll see how traffic builds again over the next 30 minutes. back to you. >> okay, how does this sound in no video conferening on fridays. going out to all the workers at one of the largest corporations in the world. we'll talk about what prompted the decision and could it be a possibility for you? also next for you, hard work really pays off. one man's complicated journey to

track down his lost million-dollar lottery tic >> ship stuck fast in the suez canal with nowhere to go. we'll bring you the layest. out to the futures, intel making big moves pulling the dow up. you're watching "today in the bay."

right now at 6:12, let's get up and move and get out the door in the east bay. walnut creek temperatures in the mid-40s to start and our morning will still be fairly nice and calm, as the winds start to relax and we'll get a few clouds in the mix today. we'll talk about what's ahead in our weekend forecast, that's coming up in a few minutes. and the crowd at the bay bridge toll plaza starting to tighten up a bit again first in the middle lanes, then mosque out. the span slows a tad bit as well. these folks are worried about a slowdown but scott, i think you have a story about a full stop? >> a full stop. good morning, happy wednesday. definitely one of those days for a ship captain in the suez. look at the pictures. giant containership is having a real trouble. it is wedged in the suez canal and stopped all traffic.

going in either direction. this is a shot from san francisco's planet labs from space. yooil and gas moving through the suez has dropped to zero, probably going to push gas prices up internationally. here at home we were seeing price spikes as the economy continues to get back to normal. you may have seen memes on the internet, on social media about rising gas prices under biden's watch. it's not because of anything new in legislation or something the white house has done. it's because of the improving economy. this happens. nationwide a gallon of gas on average is $2.87 a gallon or almost exactly where it was this month in 2018 and in 2019, the years before the pandemic. santa clara's intel making a big move. it's going to spend billions on chip factories here in the united states. in arizona specifically, this is a big pivot.

chip companies have been outsourcing the manufacture of chips. not only is intel going to make more of its own chips, it's going to make other company's chips as well. from chips to s.a.l.t. janet yellen willing ban on coptal hill today. yesterday she said she'd work with congress on increasing the amount of taxpayers deductions based on their payments on state and local taxes. state and local taxes is abbreviated as s.a.l.t., the money you pay in s.a.l.t. can be deducted from your federal tax. but when the u.s. cut taxes back in 2017, it actually reduced the amount that you can deduct in s.a.l.t. that hurt taxpayers in high tax states like california and new york. so this would do us some good. marcus and laura, you've run into this with friends. no matter what job you talk about in the bay area, it tends to pay much better than it does

anywhere e but we pay such high taxes, such more money for mortgages and rent, it's kind of a break even. >> um-hum. all right. thanks. >> tough times for a lot of people. new this morning, you can turn those cameras off for some meetings, this is if you work for citigroup. the ceo now banning video calls on fridays, and launched a citi reset holiday for may 28th, the friday before memorial day weekend, and it all is being done to relieve the stre the ceo says the blurring lines between home and work are really mental health. out this tennessee man, celebrating his million-dollar lottery win but his big prize was almost lost forever. nick slateon won two weeks ago

but went to run errands and lost the ticket. days later, he retraced everything he did on that day, and guess what? he found it. it was in an auto parts store parking lot. someone had even stepped on it as well. nick says he plans to buy a new home and a new car. he's lucky, though, because what if the parking lot, the street sweeper came and gobbled it up. amazing he found it. >> or someone had looked down. >> yeah. and picked it up and said, this is it. this is my shot. well you know what? this is our shot for another beautiful day outside. meteorologist kari hall is tracking that weather for us. what can we expect today? >> it was so nice yesterday, but it was windy, and we were out at the park and it was like empty, because people were having to fight the winds so much, they just went inside. it's still pretty breezy especially in our mountains and our hills. take a look at these wind gusts

we're seeing in mt. st. helena, 60-mile-per-hour gust and 52 in mt. diablo but it's starting to calm down in some of the valleys in spots like redwood city, 20-mile-per-hour winds right now in san francisco as well as san jose at about 15. so it will be a nicer day, if you want to get out there and go to the park and enjoy more time outside, as we check out martinez, it starts out at 59 degrees at 10:00, and then heads into the upper 60s today, with a mostly sunny sky. we will see a few more clouds in the mix as our temperatures in some areas especially in our inland areas reach up to 70 and 72 degrees in concord. 69 in livermore, san jose and 63 today will be the high in san francisco. as we look at what's going on here, this is our weather setup. we've seen the storm systems moving off towards the east, high pressure building to the west. that high pressure is moving very slowly, and will keep us from getting any chances of rain here over at least the next

week, and at times, it will become quite breezy, but the overall trend will be for our temperatures to warm up quite a bit, so taking a look at our seven-day forecast, shows temperatures in the 60s today and tomorrow, and then in the 70s for the weekend, even some upper 70s and i wouldn't be surprised if one or two of us made it up to 80 degrees, and our morning temperatures will be in the mid-40s, so yeah, more of a spring-like feel for the first full weekend of spring. heading over to you, mike, how is it looking right now for the morning commute? any problems? >> no. i don't want to jinx it. i should say [ whispering ] no major problems. we have the backup at the bay bridge toll plaza. it builds lighter traffic and building with the volume out of the maze. here is the toll plaza itself. the speed sensors on the san francisco side started to ease up a tad bit, over on the left side of your screen, off of

i-80. now that's because traffic is being metered at the toll plaza itself and things should clear on the span. with the build toward the 880 overcrossing. the bay bridge, the benicia bridge, the antioch bridge, and the golden gate bridge wind advisories from chp overnight. golden gate bridge a little unusual. no problems reported this morning, as kari said as we look at the rest of the map, traffic should be moving smoothly and the winds will lighten up as the morning continues. the altamont pass also has the advisory and the only real slowing we see. back to you. >> thanks so much, mike. coming up next on "today in the bay," "nbc bay area responds." >> millions of dollars for frustrated travelers, yet it's locked away someplace that virtually no one knows about. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll change that, next. and this morning, we're also looking back at the last photos taken before the covid shutdown began. so here are a few of the

viewers, look to your left, maria says she went to disneyland with her grandkids, and shenee went to an l.a. clippers game to the right, looked like they had a lot of fun. share your photos and videos with us on social media, i posted it on my facebook page. you can post there and might see your photo right here on "today in the bay." 6:21.

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whose travel agents they say didn't deliver. >> consumer investigator chris chmura recently discovered a ton of cash for those folks in a little known fund that some call secret. >> good morning. viewers like flora tang in san jose told us their travel agents went dark or tried to make them pay surprise fees for refunds their airlines and hotels authorized for free. they turned to us for help. >> that was my last resort, because i really didn't know where else to go. >> flora could have filed a claim at the tcrc, the travel consumer restitution corporation. never heard of it? same here. the tcrc has been around since the 1990s and currently has about $3.5 million that frustrated travelers can apply to get. the thing is, almost no one ever does. coming up tonight at 11:00, we're going to change that. we'll explain who can apply and why you might need to file soon. you'll also hear from one of its

creators who calls it a secret. you can complain to us, too. go to nbcbayarea.com and click the "responds" option from the main menu or call us 888-996-tips. i'll join you tonight again at 11:00. >> sounds good. this is trending this morning. what does community mean to you? that is what the makers of monopoly want to know. they have launched a new community chest challenge. after nine decades, the game's playing cards and getting a little bit of a makeover. fans can vote for new cards at monopolycommunitychest.com. the updated game with the all new cards will be released this fall. also getting a makeover, how about this? cadbury's easter bunny. this year it will look a little green and not with envy, though. check out here betty the frog, as i look, i'm the first amphibian tore than 12,000 submissions and will

be the face of cadbury commercials this easter. so they said forget the bunnies and dogs, we'll go with a frog. >> yeah. >> happy easter, ribbit. coming up next, how do californians feel about recalling governor newsom? new signs the recall movement is facing a huge challenge. plus, all new overnight for you in the north bay, a car plows into a homeless encampment, killing one woman. next, the horrible moment police say unfolded before that crash. and we're hearing the dreaded "d" word, more and more. talking about drought. yes, so it is time for you to conserve some water. is it? we'll talk about that next and what state leaders are saying. you're watching "today in the bay."

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right now at 6:30, apologetic but defiant. the san francisco board member and growing calls for her to resign following controversial tweets. she will not step down. "today in the bay" continues right now. good wednesday morning to you. thanks for joining us. marcus w. >> and i'm laura garcia. we begin with san francisco's school board this morning, let's go straight to "today in the bay's" kris sanchez live. so much was said in an emotional meeting last night. >> reporter: yes, it was a pretty heated meeting, and we're

all wondering what happens next and the best person to answer that is alison collins herself and we've asked for a comment from her. we have not heard back. she was listening in to that meeting that you mentioned, laura, where people spoke in public comment against her, some folks did speak in support of her as well. here is the back story in case you haven't been following this. in 2016, before collins was a board member, she read a letter to the board written by her daughter details a bullying incident that she witnessed at school in which boys were joking about sending kids back to mexico. the conversation continued on twitter with collins writing "talk to many lowell parents and you'll hear praise of tiger moms and disparagement of black/brown culture." other tweets reference the asian-american community, their response to white supremacy and racism as well. a list of leaders are calling for her to step down from the san francisco unified school board, including mayor london breed, state senator scott

weiner, assemblyman chu, district supervisors and administrators. >> because of the very important issues that the board is facing, that she has lost a certain amount of effectiveness. >> reporter: at the meeting last night, collins said she transformative dialogue going forward, expressing sincere and heartfelt apologies. collins could face action tomorrow as several board members may choose to try to strip her of any power that she has, and take away that vice president chair. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> all right, kris, thank you. new overnight, police right now are investigating a chaotic and deadly incident at a homeless encampment in the north bay. it happened last night near roberts avenue and sebastopol road. it started with a fight involving two men.

one of them reportedly jumped into a car, went across lanes and struck a woman outside a tent. that woman became pinned under the car and later died. police say the driver then ran from the scene and has not been found since. the other man in the fight is now being treated for injuries. it's not clear if the woman was part of the initial confrontation. a growing tribute this morning for the victims in the colorado supermarket shooting rampage. ten people, including a police officer, were killed at the king soopers store in boulder. mourners are bringing flowers, cards and grief back to that scene. president biden has ordered all flags to be lowered at half staff to honor those victims. those lost range in age from 20 to 65 years old, they include eric talley, a 51-year-old father of seven and veteran boulder police officer. also one of those killed in the attack, the father of a monterey county woman, erica mahoney, her father, who was 61 years old, would want her to be strong for his granddaughter.

21-year-old ahmad alissa is charged in the case, facing ten counts of first-degree murder. emily griffin, an employee at the store, said she was outside when the shooting began. >> we heard this pop, pop, pop, pop, and she just like grabbed onto me and hid under my arm. >> she and her friend were both able to escape without getting hurt. there's no word yet on a motive for the attack, but police say they see no evidence of terrorism or a hate crime. new te dales in the effort to combat recent attacks in san francisco's chinatown, the neighborhood's new volunteer protection force is expanding. the neighborhood's new volunteer protection force is expanding. volunteers have received training how to intervene from a distance and last night there were enough people to split into groups. many of those volunteers say that the mission is personal. >> my mom, she's 70 years old and she comes down here to shop

all the time and every time she comes down here, i get super worried. like dude, i got to watch out for her, i got to watch out for my people. >> the patrol organizer says as more people volunteer, there will be more neighborhood coverage, and at different times of the day and night. some are raising questions this morning over whether a recent robbery in san francisco was motivated by hate. the video shows an asian woman being dragged by a car as she tries to hold onto her purse. take a look at this. police say it happened sunday after three men assaulted her. the woman eventually lost grip and the men drove off with her purse. police aren't sure if it was a hate crime or a crime of opportunity. the woman's condition is unknown at this time. so far no arrests. you can help in the efforts to stop the hate, nbc bay area, telemundo 48 and our parent company comcast have partnered with the bay area-based asian-pacific fund to provide grants to organizations working to stop attacks against asian and asian-american community. since february, more than half a million dollars has been donated to the fund.

if you want to donate, we added a link to our website, nbcbayarea.com. janitors in san francisco today are walking off the job. janitors took to the streets demanding better workplace safety measure, one of several demonstrations planned today as a three-day strike gets under way. this comes after an eight-month-long stalemate with the city to reach a union contract. governor newsom may have a lot of convincing to do if the special election is finalized. the probolsky research firm last week surveyed about 1,000 california voters. more than half of the people who were likely to vote, 53% would vote no at this point. 34% of the likely voters right now would vote to remove him. newsom has strong support from california registered democrats. we've got a follow-up. san francisco's muni apparently

facing the wrath of frustrated city supervisors. "the chronicle" reports muni leaders answered questions during the public hearing to bring back more service faster. muni is only running at about 70% of pre-pandemic levels and only sees about 85% of its service resuming by the end of the year. with three light rail lines shut down until 2022. new detail this is morning, a judge is considering requiring pg&e to conduct more, not less fire-related power shutoffs. the brunt of the shutoffs would happen in six mostly rural northern california counties. the judge overseeing pg&e's criminal probation wants the utility to be more aggressive in prevention where lines run especially close to tall trees. state regulators oppose the plan, citing hardships to the most impacted communities. keep an eye on your water usage. the state water board is sending 40,000 notices to people calling for quick conservation. according to "the chronicle" this morning, the board is sending out warnings to small farm owners to big cities.

90% of california now in a state of drought. the board will vote this summer on who will get priority when it comes to the use of the water and just how much is taken. >> it's so concerning. great weather, we love it, really need the rain and kari, you talk about not just relying on reservoirs. >> i think we need to rush ahead any plans for other uses of another way to conserve water. we've seen this drought not only for california. look across the region, anywhere, where you see red and dark red that's extreme to exceptional drought and we've seen this for the last 20 years, so it's definitely time to come up with some other solutions here. in the north bay we have extreme drought here as well as severe drought elsewhere across the bay area and looks like this is not going to change any time soon.

we watch out for this as well as chances down the line in the forecast coming up in a few minutes. mike, what is going on heading out the door for the morning commute? >> i heard about a new crash in the east bay and i want to show you the big buildup that's happened over the last few minutes of the bay bridge toll plaza. all lanes are filled. this is a traditional pattern, about 6:20, the volume builds over here. still movement. look at the map, the slowing there as well as the san francisco decline. there may be an issue at the fifth off-ram i've circled a crash with a motorcycle upper east shore freeway. i circled san jose, we did call that about a half hour ago. roll back the tape -- if you have tape, palo alto, no problem here, peninsula is clear. back to you. >> thanks, mike. a quick question for you this morning, would you pay to cut the covid vaccine line and if so, how much? we're going to tell what you

plus -- >> the bay area housing market continues to defy expectations. the surprise destination for people moving out of san francisco. america doing very well in that covid vaccine line. the rest of the world rather not so much. let's take you out to the big board today. we are talking about intel making major moves and intel's part of the dow 30 pushing the dow up about 200 points. you're watching "today in the bay."

as we continue to return to classrooms... parents like me want to make sure we're doing it safely. especially in the underserved communities hardest hit by covid. trust me, no one wants to get back to classroom learning more than teachers like me. using common sense safety measures like masks, physical distancing, and proper ventilation. safety is why we're prioritizing vaccinations for educators. because working with our local communities... we will all get through this together, safely.

>> good wednesday morning. let's get you out the door with a live look outside as we see the sun rising over the east bay. walnut creek 44 degrees and the warmup happens quickly today. we'll get a lot of sunshine and we'll be headed close to 70 degrees. we'll talk about even warmer air in our forecast coming up in a few minutes. and looking at the toll plaza on the richmond side of the richmond-san rafael bridge and the volume builds here coming off the east shore freeway on the east shore freeway. we have a motorcycle crash and i'm concerned with the details as the fire crew and chp are both headed over there. motorcycle rider may be injured. we'll give you the latest, coming up. new video overnight of a crane being used to shoot a movie falling on a southern california home. take a look. this happened around 10:30 last night in pasadena. the home does not appear to have significant damage and no

injuries reported. we're still waiting to hear how the crane actually came down and what movie it's being used for. more than a quarter of all americans have already received at least one shot of the covid vaccine. >> scott mcgrew, this as the biden administration continues former president trump's policy, no exports of the vaccine. >> that's exactly right. the u.s. government sunk billions, marus into operation warp speed. and for now the vaccines manufactured here are going to stay here. the exception is our stockpile of astrazeneca which the u.s. had not approved they'll send some doses to canada and mexico. we've talked about the problems we've had here in california with vaccines but when you look outside the state, america's vaccine story is a really good one, one in four americans have gotten at least one dose, as laura pointed out. biden's goal of 100 million long in the rear view mirror. we're coming at 130 million. ge.

chancellor angela merkel will hold an emergency meeting to address the country's sudden spike in cases. germany is the biggest economy in europe and things are going poorly there with a third wave of infections. and total disaster in brazil. it is the second largest economy in the entire western hemisphere, and its hospitals are full. it is for all purposes the most dangerous place on earth for coronavirus. some shots save, other shots kill. new talk about gun control after the mass shootings in colorado, and georgia. the president ordered the flags to remain at half staff in honor of the victims in colorado. they were already there for victims in georgia, video of the roof of the white house where workers do it according to the rules, they run it up to the top first and then lower it. debate in the senate over new gun control, keep in mind, congress was not able to accomplish anything after the

sandy hook shootings left 20 first graders dead. bills following that shooting didn't even get full support from democrats, but the push continues. >> i think that we can make bipartisan common sense and constitutional progress on the issue of gun violence, if we work together. also players from women's soccer team will testify about women's pay on this equal payday. they are paid much less than men who play the same sport. this is the problem of unequal pay, calculating the women would have to work until today to earn what a man earned for the same job in 2020, a woman takes an extra three months according to the data. >> scott, what about any updates on the biden dogs? a lot of people have been wondering about that. they were gone and now they're

back. >> major and champ, yes, they are back as of now, apparently they went for some training, especially major, who was the one who apparently bit someone, no injuries, but yes they are back at the white house, and i know what the next question is going to be, no, i have no word on the progress of the cat. >> that's right. they're getting a cat. >> thanks, scott. many parents are struggling as their children learn from home during the pandemic. while more bay area school districts returned to in-class learning some are still closed and students attend part-time. on the "today" show, the u.s. secretary of education says he's hoping in-person learning resumes for most districts before the next academic year. >> i think if we continue with the mitigation strategies work that we utilize the american rescue plan funding to put in the safeguards needed to provide safe environments for our students we can continue to make the progress that we're making to get students in the spring.

>> he's also talking about teachers and vaccines as well. watch the full interview on the "today" show at 7:00, right after "today in the bay." one year after the start of the pandemic, the bay area housing market continues to defy expectations especially in the east bay. >> and that's where we find "today in the bay's" bob redell, live in dublin this morning. this is really interesting, some of this information that you uncovered here, bob. tell us about it. >> reporter: i think the housing markets are surprised by a couple of things, one, we're in the pandemic and the market is strong and two, where people are moving from the east bay. the bay east association of realtors tells us a number of people moving to the tri-valley where i'm at and other parts of the east bay are coming from san francisco. now before covid, you would see a number of people moving out of san mateo and silicon valley for the bigger, less expensive homes

here in the east bay. it was rare to see people moving from san francisco. the association says that it is definitely changed during the pandemic. they base this on anecdotal evidence since they don't formally track that kind of information. but you'll recall "the chronicle" recently analyzed usps change of address forms and found that alameda county was the top destination in california for people moving out of the city, out of sf and if you think about it, a lot of people moved to sf in the first place to be close to work. that's no longer necessary, with work from home and also for the cultural amenities like bars and nightclubs, which shut down during covid. >> so we are looking at alternatives where you can't go out to a nightclub, you can't go tout to a bar, i'm paying a bunch of money in rent, maybe i could do something different, take that money and enjoy home ownership in a home that allows me to work from home. >> there has been a lot of movement.

people have a desire to move out into more open space, larger homes, more bedrooms, more bathrooms.s, record sales activity and record low number of days on market, a sign that covid has not affected everyone equally. people in professions like tech that allow for remote work at home have done well during covid hence the reason why a lot of them are moving into these bigger homes out here in the east bay, whereas those in front line professions like restaurants, retail, they have not done as well. reporting live here in pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> all right, thanks for the latest there, bob. 6:49 right now. would you pay to secure a spot for the covid vaccine? if you say yes, you're not alone. a new

surveyed would pay $500 or more to jump the line. many say they don't believe people should be able to pay to receive earlier access. according to a new verizon study, nearly 10% of americans who were exposed to covid or had it did not inform their employers in fear of losing their job. nearly 40 of those people who had symptoms say they kept working at a job requiring them to be on site. >> wow. >> that's concerning, because you know, could continue to spread it. >> work could be a super spreader. we don't want that. >> no, we want to go back to normal. >> we really do. some normalcy coming with the forecast that we're having. it's nice and makes you want to get out and get some fresh air, right, kari? >> yes. i think there have been a lot more people out and about, as we take a live look outside in dublin, take a look at that steady stream of traffic that we are seeing coming through the

tri-valley. so as the sun rises this morning, and you're about to send out the door, have your sunglasses and a white jacket. we're starting out with milder temperatures in the upper 40s and so comfortable today, you probably won't need the jacket as our temperatures reach into the upper 60s and low 70s. heading out for a hike today? expect it to warm up quickly here in the south bay, with our 10:00 a.m. temperature at 55 degrees. at noon we're at 63 degrees and then reaching into the upper 60s, a few more clouds in the mix today, compared to yesterday, but the wind will calm down. as we see our high temperatures heading into the upper 60s for the south bay, and up to 70 in napa, as well as martinez. 72 in concord. we're starting to feel a little bit warmer. there will be a slight cooldown tomorrow as the storm system passes to the east but high pressure is building to the west and that's going to block any chances of rain here in the forecast, going into the next week, and it's also going to warm up our temperatures especially this weekend, as it moves in a little bit closer, so

our temperatures go from the low 70s today to some mid-60s tomorrow, a few more clouds once again overhead and then for the weekend, we'll see our temperatures warming up into the upper 70s, a nice spring-like feel in time for the weekend. mike, what's going on right now for the commute? >> we're concerned with the east bay, the east shore freeway and approach to the bay bridge toll plaza. the toll plaza itself the build grows and filled in all lanes the last time we took a live look. only the lighting has changed but the headlights they haven't, moving exactly the same, a little better in the middle and of course carpooling three or more at the bottom of your screen. as we look at the map we have the approaching san francisco kind of smoothing out. the incident at fifth was non-issue so that's good news for the span. this is still a crash involving a motorcycle. reports the rider down in lanes early on, then things calmed down. west 80 at el portal, some activity going on but chp and

fire crew also take care of things. looks like it's a lighter issue than the first reports, circling typical slowing for hayward and for san jose. back to you. >> thanks, mike. happening now, the torch relay has started for the postponed tokyo summer olympics. it kicked off in fukushima from a massive earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown of a nuclear plant ten years ago. the site was chosen as a symbol of japan's recovery from the disaster. we are just three months away from the 2020 olympics, which you can watch right here only on nbc bay area. at 6:53, coming up next a quick look at our top stories, including moving from red to orange. san francisco, marin and santa clara counties restrictions today. what about the east bay? bay."

6:56. a look at the top stories we're

following on "today in the bay," with a live look in san francisco and san jose both cities today taking another big step in reopenings because restrictions are easing in san francisco, santa clara and marin counties. all are joining san mateo county in the orange tier. you may be wondering when will alameda and contra costa counties join the less restrictive tier? >> alameda red for one more week. cocoa county do not expect to move into the orange tier until april 4th. to move tiers continues most -- the counties must maintain the same or lower infection rates for three straight weeks. contra costa county is ten days along in its current path. more students on the peninsula returning to classrooms today, san mateo unified will welcome back its high school students. every student who has opted for in-class learning should be back by next monday. palo alto online reports schools will gradually drop the hybrid

model starting next month. elementary students will return to in-class learning five days a week in phases. santa rosa police investigating the chaotic and deadly incident at a homeless encampment. it happened last night near roberts avenue and sebastopol road. it started with a fight involving two men. one of them reportedly jumped into a car, went across lanes and struck a woman outside a tent. that woman became pinned under the car and later died. police say the driver then ran from the scene and has not been found. the other man in the fight is now being treated for injuries. it's not clear if the woman was part of the initial confrontation. san jose will resume homeless sweeps with the focus on encampments near schools. the decision comes following a lengthy debate during a city council meeting l halted since last march. at least two school districts are seeking new action. homeless advocates point out the panedemic and housing crises created more homelessness and

the homeless are convenient scapegoats. cdc guidelines recommended against moving encampments due to the risk of the spread of the virus. janitors in san francisco today are walking off the job. this is a live look outside of the salesforce tower this morning, where janitors are picketing. er this demanding better workplace safety measures. it's one of several demonstrations planned today as a three-day strike is getting under way. this comes after an eight-month-long stalemate with the city to try to reach a new contract. a lot of those people out there got their jackets on because it's a cool start to our morning as we take a live look outside. we should have a nice finish. let's check in with kari. >> yes, we are going to warm up quite a bit with our inland temperatures reaching near 70 degrees, as we go toward the weekend, it's going to get even warmer with some upper 70s headed our way.

how is the commute rolling, mike? >> better getting toward the richmond bridge despite the maintenance vehicle on the shoulder. the motorcycle crash cleared from el portal and the san mateo bridge moves smoothly across the bay. >> all right, thanks for joining us. searching for answers. investigators racing to uncover a motive behind the colorado supermarket shooting. the accused gunman now charged with ten counts of murder. what we're learning about red flags in his past, including a brush with the law. this as the outpouring of grief grows with emotional, new tributes to the victims. >> i feel numb. and it's heartbreaking. this officer had seven children. >> we'll have the very latest. call to action. in the wake of that shooting and