thanks for your help welcome to "assignnt 7". today on our program, the huge bill one bay area woman got from a store. she hasn't shopped at in years. seven on your side helped settle it. a woman gives up retirement to workn a humanitarian mission half a world away. and uncorking an east bay secret. you may not have to go to napa or sonoma to visit a winery. businesses in california delinquent in paying their sales taxes. as abc 7's laura anthony reports, many of the compaes are in the bay area and include some familiar names. >> reporter: what an east beta co- bell, a pittsburgh car dealership and a sa francisco cement companyll have in

common? they're all on a notorious state list of the top 250 businesses that have failed to pay their sales taxes. >> there is about $322 million outstanding now. >> reporter: of the top 250, 42 are bay area business that collectively owe $80 million. theynclude san francisco's pacificement company, $3.1 milli. san ramon wells interior, $2.4 million. and san jose south bay auto, $2 million. alsomong those who failed to pay the former owners of this lafayette taco bell who owe $836,000. that debt dates back to 2002 and like most of them, the state hasn't been able to collect. >> get craftier and aggressive and we need to do the same. >> reporter: implicating the coection efforts of the state, most of the companies on this list lik the furniture store that used to occupy this building in san ramon, are no longer in business.

by far, the most common offenders, car dealerships. the former owners of this ford ore in pittsburgh owe $1.2 mlion. same with this dealership across town. chris hunt is with the cona costa xpayer association >> the question that immediaty comes to mind is why is that money sitting there, particularly from car dealerships? if it's from sal taxes on vehicles, why wasn't it remitted immediately? >> reporter:hatever the reason, the state board of equalization plans to crack down on all tax cheats. but especially car dealership with more fquent audits and better tracking of thr sales through the dmv. abc 7 news. >> here is a question, what should you do if you receive a bill for something you didn't buy? it happened to one bay area woman. she was toldo pay thousands, but it was money she didn't owe. "7 on your side" michael finey has your stor >> this man hasn't shopped at macy's in years.

so she w surprised when out of the blue, the store called and id she owed thousands dollars on her macy's credit card. >> i said, well, what do you mean? how much do i owe? she said $19,000. i said no, i haven't been in the store. >> reporter: she couldn't figure out how she could owe any money, much less 19 grand. but the store kept calling. she kept saying she doesn't have an account. >> i owe you nothing because you don't have my signature on nothing and u have never sent me a bill. >> reporter: macy's sent this case to the collectis department which sen her this lett saying she had racked up $19,791 in charges and she better pay $3,811 of it right away. >> you never sent me a bill. >> reporter: good question. macy's told her the bills ha been going to a different address and that's how she figured out what was going on. >> my daughter's address. at was her address.

>> reporter: turns out her grown daughter had openethe account using her mother's identity. the daughter was making until she died of cancer last november. when payments opped, macy's tracked down dor rain. >> the general rule is parents aren't liable for the debts of their ult children. >> reporter: dean johnson says no one can be held responsible for debts they didn't agree to, especially if their identity was falsy used. >> unfortunately, there are ts and lots of people out there who get tho surprise letters in the mail saying, dear, sir or madam, you owe thousands of dollars in debt for something that you don't know about, don't have anything to do with and have never heard of. that's cald identity theft. >> reporter: lorraine pt telling macy's she had not signed a credit card agreement, but they kept demanding payment. >> thas when i called channel 7 because michael finney is always at your rescue. >> we contacted macy's and right away a customer service manager

spoke with lorraine. after reviewing the case, they told her she was off the hook. all $19,000 worth of charges go. >> she said okay. we will not have you responsible for this bill i said will you put that in writing? >> reporter: they would not discuss thdetail, saying only austomer with questions or concerns is best served talking and working directly with macy's rather thagoing through an intermedia. credit accounts involve confential information and we respect the privacy of our customers. she was happy she woed with us anyway. >> made me feel real good because knew i had help. >> michael finney, "7n your si." >> michael says if you suspect someonelse used your identity to rack up bills, you should notify the creditor or the collection agency right away. we posted a link to the state and federal laws regulating debt collections at abc 7 news.com, look under "7 on your side." san jose could become the

first city in the nation to put in what's known as a pot car system. they're carrying passengers at the rport in london. heatr ishimaru has this story. >> reporter: this promotional video from the pod car compy shows a system at work at london heathrow airport. the elevated electric transit syst let's passengers pick a destination and tas them directly there at 25 miles per hour. >> for silicon valley, it's like a packet switch people mover like the internet for people. >> reporter: san jose is thinking about bringing them here to link the airport with cal train and bart statn, light rail, the convention center and possibly office pks and retail centers. the vta just dedicated $4 million for a feasibility study. laura is the sustainabity officer for san jose's departmentf transportation. >> we're going to do an analysis in the next nine months that will give us an in-deh

analysis, is it really ready? and also fees ability finaially. can we operate the system? it's not going to put us in the ho. >> reporter: if the answers are yes, the next phase will be designg a system and selecting a vendor. the u.k. based ultrashows its system here, but there are other companies out there. san jose estimates the cost at $200 million, much cheaper than a $600 million estimate for an underound people mover. in octobersan jose will host an internatial pod car nference. the city thinks there is more than a transit opportunity here. the silicon valy could become the global center for commercializing e new technology. >> it's a highly autated system that requir a lot of competg power and we are central for a computer and information technolog and the human computer interface. those are the things that silicon valley does. >> reporter: passengers could be riding pod cars as early as

20. heather ishimaru, abc 7 news. >> imagine this, turning a wind blown island in san francisco bay into a self sustaining urban utopia. up next, the new vision for treasure island. plus -- >> for the price of a good silk blouse, i could fl there. >> a woman's crusade to stop >> a woman's crusade to stop child slavery in nepal. were pse i want you to >> ♪

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and eating well ans getting enough whole grain and calcium. and general mills big g kid cereals can he. did you know is the only leading line of kid cereals with at least 8 grams whole grain and a good source of calcium? cereals they already love, like luckyharms and cinnamon toast crunch. give your kids more of what they need to be thr best. grow up strong. with big kid cereals. ♪ welcome back t"assignment 7". cies around the world are looking to islands to solve their exnsion, transportation and housing problems. san francisco sees its future on treasure island. abc 7's alan wong has more on a plan thatnvision has redential utopia in the middle of the bay. >> reporter: in urban architect craig ideal world a diverse populaon generates its own power on a sustainable island with organic farms. easy access to mass transit, and

no gas stations. 's hoping to morph treasure island into that world. >> you want to put the most density again, right on top of transit if you can. >> reporter: by concentrating people in high-rise towers, he wants to transform the remainin 300-res of treasure island into on space with hiking trails, wetlands, recreational facilities and farm land. >> we are trying to bring the idea of food to our lifestyles as close together as possible. >> reporter:artman wants to redesign this wind battered island by angling streets to minimize the pacific jet stream and maximize sunlig. he uses a virtual wind tunnel to e how certain buildings will shield common area >> the buildings block the wind from these parks, yet the sun is coming this way so it maximize the amount of daylight ithe park itself. >> reporter: but hartman's new urbanism faces an old probm. cars. the new plan allows for 5,000

more vehicles on the island, possibly adding more traffic to the bay bridge. >> 8,000 more cars on the island i thi is going to be craz busy out here. it's going to feel more like in san francisco. >> reporter: there is only two exit and entry points onto treasure isld from the bay bridge. >> they're going to have to create bigger access. that's gng to be a real logistic issue. >> rorter: there is a plan to win the ramp, but san francisco developmt director jack sylvan also has a plan to encourage the use of mass transit. >> we're providing a series of carrots and sticks to encourage you to not use your car. >> reporter: the stick is a hefty fee r using your vehicl during peak commuting hours. the carrot? a ferry service running every ten minutes to and from san francisco. also a special bus lane on the bridge. the ferry and bus terminal would be aalk away for most residents. >> the intenti is to try to

fine tune transportation behavior so that people are encouraged and find it more convenient to e public transportion. >> reporter: and give up the freedom and independence of driving a car. the sparkling skyline across the bay would cost the developer somewhere in the range of billion. if it works, this manmade island will have been transfoed into the most environmentally sustaible project in u.s. histy. in san francisco, alan wong, abc 7 news. >> a bay area woman lead ago campaign to stop child slavery for more than a decade i now gettg help from the governmt of nepal. as abc 7's cheryl jenning reports, thousands of impoverished girls are getting a new chance at a good life. >> reporter: tse young girls are the face of modern day savery, from rural villages in nepal, living in the shadow of the himalayas in one of the orest parts of the world. >> little girls, little tiny girls, six, seven, eight, nine, who are more or ls sold by

their parents to work as servants in th homes of strangers far away. >> reporte thousands of families sl their girls every year. ofn because they can't afford to feed them. the parents get about $50 a year. thdaughters are sent to big cities to work long hours, most nevego to school and many are abused. this video is provided by the youth oppounity foundation in nepal founded by olga murray, a retired lawyer. she went there on vacation more than 20 years ago and fell in love with the country and its children. and she decided to spend her retireme making a difference. >> and i realized that for the price of a good silk blouse, i could save a kid's life. >> reporter: she firsttarted raising money for scholarships one went to a young man named sam. after college, he became a chdren's rights activist. he was stunned to learn about the sale of young girls some parts of hs own country.

>> everybody had a little girl working in their house and even the media would not like to take the issue on because the law is imply -- human rights worker. >> repter: they came up with a plan. if a family agrees to keep their daughter home, olga's foundation gives them a kid, which they can raise and sell for about the same amount they would have received for their daughter. the foundation pays for the girl to go to school. >> the ecation of girls i the key the improvement of nepalese society because girls who ar educated will marry later. they'll have fewer chiren, and they're more likely to keep eir daughters. >> reporter: the firstear, 30 families joined the program. the next year, there were 150 and the program kept growing. last year, olga brought 400 rescued girls to nepal's pital. they put on a huge public

campaign to eliminate child slavery. >> as a result, the government appropriated $1.6 million to educate these girls. >> reporter: so nothe government is paying f school and that means olga's orgazation can spend its money rescng more girls. >> we are on the verge of eradicating this custom all together in the areas. >> reporter: cheryl jennings, c 7 news. >> when "assignment 7" continues, a doctor's work that helps free a man from hiv, it's now bringing hope and a new line of research to the bay area. plus -- >> hopeful this will be an equivalent to gasoline. >> from silicon valley, an bitious car battery project. imagine going 0 miles on a ngle charge.

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that's why i got them pillsbu toaster strudel. warm flaky pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i getwo boxtops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. and these are the ones yoll love on a tuesday. pillsbury crescent dogs, with jusa few ingredients, you have an easy to make nner. they're crescents for the other 364. try them tight. the german doctor who cured an hiv pient was in san franciscthis summer.

the doctor's st cell procedure eliminated the virus from the man's body. lyanne melendez has moren the doctor'sork and the hope for the future. >> reporr: there is so much optimismround the doctor's 2007 procedure that th city of san francio gave the german doctor a proclamation. three years ago, he treated an hiv man for leukemia using stem cells from a matched donor. the donor was also immune to the hiv virus, which meant he did not have the ccr 5 protein. this protein helps the hivirus attach itself to a healthy cell, therefore, infecting it. but without ccr 5, the virus can't hold on. the necells from the donor helped the patient's body defeat thaids virus. the doctorays today the patient is hiv free. >> surprisgly, we found 60 days after transplantation was

the last time we have ever done hiv inhe patient. >> reporter:he case sparked great interest from th california institute for regenerative medicine. the ste stem cell agency. jeff is a board member. >> there is excitement because this is a way in which we can use stem cells to potentially cure hiv. >> reporter: dr. levis a leading expert in hiv research. >> if we can elinate that attachment site, which is called ccr 5, the virus will not be able to ent the cell. >> reporter: the stem cell agen is funding two studies that focus on cutting off the ccr 5 gene. similar researchnderway offers a treatment but not a cure. >> where we can take these cells out through a peripheral blood draw, ip them from the t cells, expand that and then reinfuse them in t hope of giving patients an immune system that is now immune to hiv infection.

>> reporter: one of the two stem cells studies ll be done at point richmond using the latest tenology in gene therapy. >> the goal of both applications is to be ready for phase one clinical trials the end of four years. >> reporr: in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> a different kind of science now. a te of scientists at ibm research in san jose is tacking what they call the future of the all electric vehicle. abc 7's reporter reports. >> reporter: ibm researcher sally swanson is climng what she calls the mount everest of energy, working on ibm's battery 500 project. >> this is a sandwich. >> reporter: the goal is to build a car battery that will go 500 miles before needing a recharge. swanson says the battery would revolutionize the all electric vehicle market and do away with many people's recharge anxiety.

>> i can get back home if i have to. i can get to my son's house in l.a., whatever. >> reporter: right now ts is the best known of the few all electric vehicles in production, its lithium eye onbaery has a range of about 200 miles. ibm's representave says pound for pound a lithium air battery could be more efficient. the trick is to make use of something light and easily available. air. >> you have ions going in and the air from the atsphere to come and release external energy toe used to drive your car or any device. >> reporter: the benefits of metal air batterielike this one, have been kno for decades. they power millions of small devices likeearing aids. but the challenge has been making them bigger and rechgeable. ibm set aside another two years to test the science behind its battery 500 project. swanson says the recent oil

disaster in the gulf just reaffirms the urgency of their work. >> hopefully this will be an equivalent to gasoline and do away withhe need for so much gas in the country. >> reporter:he ibm research labs may not resemble mount everest, but the journey could result in a powerful view. abc 7 news. >> up next, you may not have to travel all the way to napa or soma for good wine. some of the best wineries may be closer to home.

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♪ [ female aouncer ] why choose between delicious or 100 lories? ♪ th yoplait delights, now you can finally ve both. ♪ it's the perfect parfait, with two induently rich layers of chocolate and rpberry yogurt and only 100 lories. yoplait delights. get rid ofhe "or." >> welcome bac when we think about local wineries, most of us have in mind napa or sonom theresa garcia found out some people are thinking of oakland or almeda as the new wine country. >> reporte row upon row, these may ke you feel like you arrived at a cellar o in wine countr but not so here. >> you look east an it's like

oh, wow. theris a scene out there. >> thiwine maker is talking about the east bay where there is a growing industry of urban wineries, at least 21 are part of the recently formed east bay isn't they a wine country. this boasts spectacular views of the san francisco skyline. it's housed in a converted 40,000 square foot airplane hangar at the former naval air base going urban is a much cheaper way to break into t wine industry. >> why own a vineyard if you don't have to? why spend a million dollars on a plot of land you're not sure is going to do great? >> rorter: instead, that's wine makers research, purchase and truck their grapes in from a variety of california growers. >> it's beautiful. it's cranberry, sage. >> repter: for her, it's an art an science she learned growing up. her father, ken is a founding trail blazer of urban wine making producing zinfandel since

1978. then there are self tght successful wine makers. he's been monkeying around since 1996 and now produces nearly 2,000 cases of wine a year at his oakld based irish monkey cellors. >> i like the fact we're connected toeople in our very, very specific counity. >> reporter: many customers who come to the tasting room ar local. some like the eco friendly conct of not spending as much gas and drive time as it would take to visit the traditional napa sonoma wineries further north. as for quality, plenty of awards speak for themselves. and the grapes, well, bob believes they don't really care where they're crushed, fermented and aged into wine. >> i think it knows who is making it, but it doesn't know whe it's being made. so it's perfectly reasonable for th to be wineries in the middle of oakld or any place else. >> reporter: turning a profit can take tim but these urban wine make are showing they're wiing to take the risk and pour in a labor of love.

>> cheers. >> reporter: theresa garcia, abc 7 news. >> if you want more information on the stories on our program toda go to our web site and look under the news links on the left side fo"assignment 7". at's all for this edition of "assignment 7". i'm krisn sze. thank you for joining us. we'll see you back here next time. [ female announcer ] to do well, kids need to eat well. and eating well means getting engh whole grain and calcium. and general mis big g kid cereals can help. did you know it's the only leadg line of kid cereals with at least 8 grams of whole grain ana good source of calcium?

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