right now, preparing to walk out of class. new teacher protest planned in one school district, leaving some parents scrambling this morning. >> also new guidance, another bay area city moving fast to get ahead of the omicron surge. the new mandate that may leave you keeping your mask handy even when you're outside. this is "today in the bay." of course, you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm kris sanchez.

marcus washington is off this morning. >> we're going to start out mild and we have low clouds and fog in the forecast. this morning 40s in san jose, 47 degrees, 48 in oakland. take a look at the fog. santa rosa down to about 3 miles visibility, 6 miles through oakland and through the livermore/concord area less than 3 miles. we're going to keep this fog for the first half of the day. then expect peeks of sunshine breaking through that cloud cover. today we're going to go from 40s early on and top out in the upper 50s, a couple of low 60s through parts of the interior valleys. then we'll get breaks in sunshine for the afternoon. families in oakland are

bracing for a new teacher sickout that could leave some classes cancelled. as cheryl herd reports, students are also planning their own walkout. >> one day you're in school, the next day you're not. you're just in limbo. >> reporter: that's how denise clark, the mother of a montero middle schooler, is reacting. >> i can totally understand. all the schools may not have purifiers. >> reporter: at least a dozen schools in oakland were forced to close last friday after more than 500 teachers called out sick. close to 1,000 students threatening to cut class next tuesday after the holiday weekend unless the district moves in-person learning to online instruction and provides k n95 mask and n95 masks for every student.

california school board association spokesperson says school districts all over the state are at a breaking point. >> they've become de facto public health agencies and they've been stretched beyond their core competency, which is education. the federal government needs to do more. >> reporter: in response the oakland school district released a statement saying in part, being unable to come to school does a disservice to our students and their families. everyone on our campuses is masked. schools have excellent ventilation and air purification and most people, especially in secondary schools, are vaccinated. oakland unified announcing a wellness day for teachers this friday and extended covid leave. mark airgood, a special education teacher for the district, says that's not enough. he says during this surge, the entire district should go back to distance learning. >> every day of school is

essentially a super spreader event. >> we crunched the numbers for three different counties. oakland schools, just over 800 students have tested positive this month, 2% of the overall enrollment. san francisco schools are reporting 500 cases or .8% of students and staff . in the south bay cupertino schools have reported 239 cases this month or 1.5% of students and staff. if you want to know the numbers in your child's school, head to nbcbayarea.com/covid-19. health leaders are updating masking guidelines effective saturday. masks will be required at any event with more than 500 people indoors or more than 5,000 people outdoors including venues like the chase center. on february 1st, ticket holders over 16 will be required to show proof of vaccine and a booster

shot at least one week prior to that event. those 12-15 get another week. san francisco's skyline this morning looks like a nice start to our thursday morning as we're inching closer to the weekend. we've had pretty nice days and we're looking forward to a nice weekend ahead. is it too early to start talking weekend? >> no, it never is. we are a little cloudy with low clouds and fog out there, but the dry weather is expected to remain today and the through the weekend as well. limited visibility in the bay area right now, santa rosa at 3 miles, napa at 4 miles and parts of hayward and livermore. we will be seeing early patchy fog linger until about the first half of the day. then we'll get some clearing and

a mix of sun and clouds. it's 47 degrees in san jose. we'll start to bump up into the 50s. yesterday we did manage to hit some mid 60s. today we're going to top out in the low 60s for the interior valleys and upper 50s heading into the weekend. we're going to remain dry. coming up in my full forecast i'll give you a closer look at your allergy report and also your air concerns. big changes coming to one popular app. ahead a look at snapchat and the features that could fine tune your conversation. plus, some good news for flyers on one airline especially if they've been forced to cancel flights due to the pandemic. the decision that may have just bought you a little time. looking live at the bay bridge toll plaza, mike is out

this morning but vianey is watching the roadways for you. fireman

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. good morning. it is 4:39. a live look right now at the beautiful shot of the bridge. it looks really nice. we are seeing some foggy areas up through the north bay.

i'll talk about visibility and your weekend ahead coming up in a few minutes. good morning. wall street is set to open slightly lower after stocks rose yesterday. that's despite a hot report on inflation which show consumer prices jumped in december at the fastest pace since 1982. the dow and s&p 500 rising for a second straight day while the nasdaq extended its winning streak to three days. in folk today, reports on unemployment and producer prices. delta air lines is giving customers an extra year to use travel vouchers they received after cancelling a flight during the pandemic. those credits will now extend through the end of 2023. that will also apply to any tickets bought this year. the move has yet to be matched by american or united. snapchat is rolling out several new features. users will soon be able to reply to individual messages and chats

and use emoji reactions including thumbs up or down, a heart, a flame and tears of joy. you'll be able to pull friends in snap and stories. it's improving audio and video calling, making it easier to add lenses and see who's joined a group call before you hop on. back to you. >> all of the features starting to make all of the platforms look very similar. >> i thought that yesterday. >> exactly. everything's the same. yet a little different. oakland tries to turn the page on a very difficult year. next on "today in the bay," the new strategy laid out by oakland's chief of police in an effort to combat last year's surge in crime. and we are seeingit up thro santa rosa, down to be about 3 miles. look at napa, 4 miles. dense fog for your early morning commute.

at the golden gate bridge. a little fog, a little haze out there. vianey is tracking it all for us. nothing to complain about.

>> 47 degrees and it is going to be a cooler day ahead. yesterday we topped out in the mid 60s. today we're going to cool off to the low 60s, upper 50s. great shot of downtown san jose. current temperatures mostly in the 40s and the 50s right now. i want to show you fog and visibility, because we are noticing some pretty dense fog areas up through santa rosa, napa, hayward. if you're heading to the tri-valley expect visibility down to about 3 miles many some spots.

you can see down through southern california there is a system just offshore approaching this area. but for us, the system that was approaching was off to the north. we're still expected to remain dry. we're just going to see cloud cover from this. the winds will be picking up tomorrow especially for the mountain areas. this afternoon, we're going to be in the 60s. we're going to continue to see the dry weather. no rain in sight into the seven day outlook. san mateo, 58 degrees. san francisco in the 50s as well. up through the north bay, 60 degrees for santa rosa. clear lake 59. let's talk about your air quality. we're still seeing moderate air quality from the north bay down to the south bay. in addition to the moderate air quality, let's take a quick check of your allergy forecast.

if you feel like your allergies have been acting up, we are seeing some moderate conditions when it comes to pine. the wind is expected to pick up tomorrow. heading into friday, saturday and sunday temperatures remain in the 50s. notice still no rain in sight. we're continuing sort of into this dry weather pattern. as we head into tomorrow we should see breezy conditions especially for the mountain areas. saturday and sunday it shapes up to be a really nice day. overnight lows will be cold, dipping down into the 30s especially for the interior sheltered valleys. that could mean patchy fog early monday morning. mlk is also going to be a sunny day ahead. governor newsom is making homelessness a central part of

his agenda. yesterday he helped clean up a homeless encampment overlooking a freeway in san diego. he had a quick answer for a reporter who suggested he hasn'. >> so you want specifics? 58,000 people we've gotten off the streets. just in the last 12 months. weprocured hotel and motel rooms up and down the state of california. you want immediate short-term solutions, that's it. we did something permanent, $846 million last year. >> newsom says his new budget will pay for 50,000 units for the unhoused, including tiny homes. the plan also makes mental health services a part of that investment. in oakland, the focus is on crime. more police academies, more investigators and more community outreach are all part of opd's new public safety plan to

rebound from last year's homicide rate. 39 trainees including nine women. unregistered ghost guns will also become a big target. a new ordinance banning untraceable guns and the possession of ghost gun parts. >> we're also fined $1,000. >> we believe that this year we'll don't see a higher rate as well as additional staffing. >> last year ghost guns accounts for 20% of all opd confiscated firearms. contra costa county is adding a team of mental health professionals.

the new program is a-3. it stands for any one, anywhere, any time. i like it. behavioral health experts will assist first responders on emergency calls involving mental health crises. it's expected to become a 24-hour service by mid 2023. the new call center is aimed after miles hall, the young man shot and killed by walnut creek police in 2019 during what was a mental health emergency. she may be team usa's bravest olympian. coming up next, she speeds face first down an ice track. would you do it? the skeleton rider looking to finally win a medal. first, happening now, city college of san francisco leaders will vote on whether or not to save a cantonese language program. a vote is expected at 2:00 this afternoon following public comment.

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the russian river brewing company is delaying the annual release. the new health order yesterday bans large gatherings. past years have drawn massive crowds as people waited in line for hours at both locations in order to get a chance at that triple india pale ale. the beer will be released at the end of march. we are counting down the days until the winter olympics.

leading up to the games we want to introduce you to who will be representing team usa. this morning we want to highlight one of the olympians competing in skeleton. >> her name is katie ulander. she's competed in five straight olympics over the past 16 years. >> i think i connect with my higher self in nature. when you're standing on top of a peak and it's totally quiet, nothing beats that. if i'm on the beach and i happen to have a day surfing, paddle boarding, just being in the ocean, it washes all of my worries away. i love the feeling of flow. >> breckenridge, colorado's katie ulander. >> it's her best run of the game! >> i'm from texas, colorado and

kansas. during the pandemic, i ended up working as a tree arborist assistant, pulling trees over. being in the woods, i loved it. i worked as a rancher tagging cattle. i worked at a neurology clinic as a post care coordinator with combat veterans. i think my favorite is the adventure television, mostly because of the crew. working on "survivor" the crew is like family. i started out testing the challenges and kind of doing p.a. work. then i got promoted to camera assistant. finding ways to tell a story using a social experiment. learning something and knowing you're capable even if you fail, that's what inspires me. >> each day we get a little closer to the start of the olympics. our coverage starts february 3rd. opening ceremony is the next night on the 4th.

you'll have to forgive older 49ers fans if they're walking down memory lane this week. >> we could take the rest of the hour talking about the classic playoff battles against the dallas cowboys. the sunday's wildcard game in dallas has the faithful and the team very excited. let's all hope jimmy g's injured thumb looks as good as it did last sunday. he says he's taking nothing for granted. >> we have a chance to do something special. it's just you don't get that opportunity every year. so i've been on a number of teams. i went to the super bowl. there's a feeling. you want to make them count as long as you have them, i guess. >> the niner game takes place on sunday in dallas. the raiders are getting ready to play the cincinnati bengals on saturday afternoon. you'll be able to see it right here on nbc bay area at 1:30.

vice president kamala harris is assuring the nation that help is on the way for millions of people looking for covid tests. >> i think it's going to be by next week. >> next, more of this exclusive interview, interview,. temperatures are starting out in the 40s and we do have clouds lingering, also fog expected for the first half of our day. i'll talk about how we're going to be shaping up for not just your thursday but the weekend ahead.

right now at 5:00, parents this morning braces for another teacher sickout, but in this case it's not just teachers protesting covid protocols. the new twist being floated by students concerned about the health risk. plus, vice president kamala harris reflecting this morning on her first year in the vice president's office. she looks forward, opening up about the challenges in boosting voting rights everywhere. also, a boost in the battle against drought conditions. where bay area residents are exceeding expectations when it comes to water conservation. good thursday morning.

i'm kris sanchez. marcus washington has the day off. don't forget if you're headed out the door, you can watch us on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. let's start with a look at the forecast this morning. vianey arana has a closer look. >> it's going to be another dry day. we are starting out a little cloudy. we have a system just to our north. it's not going to bring us rain, but it is going to cool us off just a little bit. in concord it's about 43 degrees. we finally start to get peeks of sunshine right between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. of course we're seeing the fog right now. we've been waking up to some of that fog especially in the north bay. now we're down to less than 2 miles in visibility up through santa rosa. novato down to about 3 miles visibility as well as concord. once the sun