welcome to "assignme 7". today on our program. >> made those maps that now show we are in a flood zone when, in fact, we are not. >> "7 on your side" tells us how a bay area homeowner got around his bank's demands after refusi to pay for cerage he didn't need. al the story of a young local woman who couldn't watch yog children miss out on treats, so she opened up a special bakery and -- >> i'm out in the field 200 days a year. it's a good life. >> what years of study taught one man about butterflies and clate change. we begin wit a new investigative tool for fact

checking in e governor' race. mark matthews tells us how the cafornia watch site works. >> reporter: pick a statement by meg whitman on a particula issue. say the budget. then compare that statement with what jerry brown has said on the same issue and you've got a big part of what political reporting is all about. if you take every quote or promise statement made by both candidates and run them through a whole batch of search tools, now you got the basic idea behind politics verbatim. >> it's a way voters can use it as a voter guide. it sortsy issue, like abortion, the budget, welfare, environment. >> reporter: mash is editorial direor of california watch. he showed off the site which also sorts candidates' statents by geography. are they telling voters in ange county the same things that they are saying in san francisco? >> there will be a way for people to do a search and sort for inconsistencies with this

site, definitely. >> he says his staff is scouring political coverage of the ndidates's speeche on their campaign sites. >> on top of that, what we're trying to do in our next implementation is make it easy for her news organizations, news partner as well as the general puic to upld video, audio files to us so we can transcribe them and pu them directly on the site. >> he envision this is as a 21st century voter guide. our political analyst doesn think so. >> because voters have better things to do with their lives. they actuall have lives, unlike journalists. >> this professor says journalintists and bloggers, tyl be the ones that find the site very useful. and they will report on what they find. >> and that's how it will ultimately get to your average voter. >> the profeor also believes there may well be unintended

consequences. >> one unintended conseence, particularly with these two candidates, is it may push them to be more vague than they already have been. >> we have seen th in this vernor's race from both sides. politics verbatim is flagging statements that are deflected or vague and they are adding another flag for flip flops. you n find their site by going to our site at abc 7 news.com. -- ware a media partner with california watch and will be contributing to politics veatim. in the news room, mark matthews, abc 7 news. >> east bay man never thought his retirement savings coul be threatened all by a map. it has to do with his flood insunce, something thousands of homeowns are being forced to purchase by their lenders. "7 on your side" michael finney has the story. >> reporter: robert's backyard is bordered by a shallow creek. his house sits feet above it, as d all the other homes in this carelly planned complex.

so why is robert being singled out? >> they overlaid those maps, it now showed ware in a flood zone when we're not. >> reporter: newlood maps by fema shows robert's house sits just inside a flood zone. although his nehbor's homes do not. as a result, robert's mogage lender required him to buy flood insurance. >> all together, we were billed $3,150 for flood insurance that we don't need. there is absolutely no risk. for it to even get up to the walking th outside our house that, would mean the enre area behind us would have to flood. >> reporter: city planners agree there is no reason to single out robert's home as a flood risk. >> the home is specifilly required to be out of the flood plain. >> reporter: she says the city requed the developer years ago to build all the homes above the flood plain. that includes robert's house. this whole complex was engineered specifically to meet

fema's standards with all homes at least one foot above the flood plain. fema sned off on this 13 years ago. >> the entire tract was taken out of the flo plain, including all the land that all the homes were on. >> reporter: she says nothin has changed since then to make it a flood risk. but the new fe maps ignore all of that, and she says they aren't quite accure. fema laid area photosver hand drawn flood maps and the two don't quite mesh. >> it's nearly impossible to match them exactly perfectly. >> reporter: she says incorrect lis push robert's house in the blue hazard zone here wh it's in the safer white zone here. none of that mattered to robert's lender, cha bank. >> it's a sorry ste of affairs. you shld be able to talk directly to the people that are billing you, number one. that's first and fomost. it's frustting. >> reporter: he sent the bank all the planning and fema documents, no one responded.

so he contacted "7 on your side" and we contact chase. the bank said it mu abide by the latest fema maps, right or wrong. it's uto robert to appeal to fema. not the bank. since robert holds a federally insured mortgage, and th map says he's in the hazard zone, he must buy flood insurance. >> unless we can get fema to prove they made an error drawing the maps with their new technology, there is really not too much we can do about it. >> reporter: robert would have to hire an engineer, file an apal, and persuade fema its map is wron he figures it can cost thousands of dollars and possibly take years. so robert took a quicker and more drastic approach. >> i had no choice. >> reporte he liquidated a big portion of his retirement savings and used it to pay off the entire $69,000 mortgage on his house in one lump sum. now there is no federally insured mortgage, so nobody can

make robert buy flood insurance. >> paying off the mortgage was definitely not in our retirement plans. but it was either that or i be pang $3,000 a year for flood insurance premiums when i don't need flood insurance. kind of changed the way we're looking at a lot of things as a result. but it would be easier to just pay for it and be done with it and get it out of our hair. >> reporter:here could be help for homeowners caught up in the bureauacy like robert. llowing our investigation into inaccurate fema maps, one congress woman intruced sweeping flood insurance reforms. one would give them access to a consumer advocate to fig these chars. homeownersould also be given five years notice before being forced to buy the insurance. michael finney, "7 on your side" >> researchers could provide new hope for peop who suffered spinal cord injuries. >> brownies, starts, pies. >> a new bakery that takes the

cake and more. coming up, a young woman is opening her own gluten fr bakery.

how would i make sool a better place? field trips to theoo! more basketballs. soccer balls. and a museum! [ grls ] mo basketballs. soccer bls! more books yeah. like just a ton of books. [ girl ] and books about soft thing soft and slimy. [ female announcer ] now clip double b tops for education.

>> a young east bay camp counselohas become an entrepreneur a age 22. she was inspiredo create her own recipes and business after watching peoplehe loved suffer fr health problems relad to glen intolerance. the story from abc 7's cheryl jennings. >> i have created all my own recipes. i converted a lot of recipes from regular recis to gluten free. >> reporter: 2year-old katy taylor is running hard between her booming gluten free catering business a the new gluten free bakery she's about to open. >> cookies, brownies, tarts, pies. >> reporter: it' called >> i threw out so many cupcakes. it w hard to figure out what

the blend needed to be. sometimes it would turn out too soft or sometimes too hard. >> reporter: she cse gluten free desserts and bread because of her mother's illss and the kids she met while a counselor at a cp in livermore. they suff with seal yack disease. their bodies can't tolerate gluten, a protein in cerin grains. here are some of the stories that broke katy's heart. >> if i have too much of the gluten, i could have kidney failure and stuff like that. >> i get really sick. >> what kind of sick? >> i'll be in the bathroom all night throwing up. >> i usually get really bad migrnes. >> they found out because i was breaking a few bones every year. >> i can'teat wheat, oats, barley or rye. so sometimes i'm at a birthd parties, i can't have the cake. >> on a gluten free diet, it changed my health. >> reporter: katy's parents, elaine and barry taylor, started the taylor family foundation in

the east bay 20 years ago to help children with life-threatening illnesses. now their daughter is helping sweeten their mission as she begins her own career. >> this ability to be ab to just turn it on and focus on the rests really exciting. i see a great future for her. >> how could a 22-year-old put is togethe >> reporter: she had a learn how to cook gluten freeood and it was extremely important for her to make it taste really great. >> i use fine brown rice flour. but other than that, i can tell you anything. it's top secret. >> reporter: cheryl jennings, "assignment 7". >> there is new ho for people with spinal cord injuries. for the first time, a study shows our own antibodies help repair nerve damage. >> after christopher reeve advocated for more research on spinal cord trauma. >> research today is not

speculative. it is not a waste of money. it is the only way to relieve suffering. >> reporter: researchers at stanford schooof medicine think they know how to help nerve cells in thspine grow. for some unknown reason when the nerves in the spine are severed, fatty substance called myelin sits there, wohless. not allowing the nerves to reconnect. >> as those nerves start to grow back down the spinal cord, they cat, because the myelin is actingike a stop signal, blocking the ability to regenete. >> reporter: this doctor is the lead researcr. he sayantibodies have limited access to the brain and spinal cord so he and his staff injected antibodies directly into mike, which then cleared that fatty substance. >> at any time theorically that one could remove the myel

myelin, it would turn it into a go sign. >> reporter: so preparin these antibodies in a lab may lead a new way of repairing damage, from stroke and spinal cord injuries. the problem is our bodies need myelin to help nerves make connections. now researchers must fure out how to make the antibods distinguish between working and worthless myelin. abc 7 news. >> fir of its kind place built in the bay area for veterans, by veterans the special gym helping rehabilitate america's war wounded. d a butterfly effect with 40 years of

[ female announcer ] w pillsbury sweet moments molten brownie bowls rich fudge over a warm, chocole brownie like nothing you've ever had before ready made sweet momts in the refrigerated section

[ male announcer ] within every pillsbury package is the power to enrich a child's mind. collect pillsbury double box tops for education today. ok. what if i st had a small slice? i was good today, i desee it! or, i could have medium slice and some celery sticks and they would cancel each oer out, right? or...ok. i could have one large slice anjog in place as i eat it or...ok. how about one large slice while jogginin place followed by eight celery.. mmm raspberry cheecake... have been thinking about this all day. wow, and you've lost weigh oh yeah, you're welcome. thank u! [ female announcer ] yoplait light. with 30 delicious flavor all around 100 calories each. yoplait. its so good.

first of its kind fility in the bay area is helping injured veterans rebuild their health and fitness. as abc 7's carolyn johnson reports, the vets had a hand in helping toesign the equipment. >> reporter: marine sergeant (r. pierce refuses to let his wheelchair keep him down. in fact, he builds muscle lifting it up. 18 months after being severy wounded by a road se bomb in afghanistan, pierce is working out again. no in a traditional gym, but in a first of its kind outdoor rehab facility at the a. hospital in palo alto. >> it's nice. most of the gym equipment that would come is made for normal people that can walk, stand and move around. th is really good.

>> reporter: the equipment was designed with the input of disabled vets returning fr iraq and afghanistan. integring angles that allow whlchair athletes to perform high impac exercises. >> i can really getnto anything wre i can do good press. a couple of these machines help with that. >> it needs to be a little rther out. give me a longer range. >> reporter: adrien was an engineer with the company that's builng the prototypes. >> it provides a better challenge to really do something well for these guys, men and women. knowing the outcome is for life function, i do want to do a good job. >> rorter: he says t daunting challenge came from younger veterans li sergeant philip who missed one form of exercise more than any other. >> i was a big runner and since then,i haven't been able to work on my cardiomuscl. >> reporter: a wheehair treadmill was part of the solution.

>> i can build up a sweat. >> reporter: but they designed weight machines with high speed motiono produce aerobic workouts: they believe the outdoor location is providing psychological befits. this is the director of occupational healt >> i was really inspired to learn that compont of the athlic self and the mental health self. those o come together. when you're outdoors and exercising, people feel better. >> reporter: the v.a. is hoping to refine the prototypes and potentially expand the concept to other facilities acros the country, helping others. >> i wouldn't mind going up again. that wa really nice. the only limit it is my imagination. i can agine just about anything. >> reporter: carolyn johnson, abc 7 news. >> everything you ever wanted to know about butterflies is common

knowledge to aocal man. as abc 7's wayne freedman repos, his study offers a fascinating perspective on climate change. >> i've been doi this so long that it's second natu. >> reporter: if dr. arthur shapirof uc davis had a dollar or even a penny for every step of every hike he's taken in the past four decades, height be one of the world's richest men. then again, maybe he is already. >> i'm out in the fie 200 days a year. it's a good life. >> reporter: his commodities -- >> here is a caterpilla >> begin like eggs and hen they blsom. there is little about butterflies that he can't explain. >> that's a male, cour ago female. she left. >> reporter: why do they break up? >> irreconcilable differences. >> reporter: he's the buttery equivalent of a census taker. he expect to find 11 different specs along the americ river in the sierra foot hills. >> it's the commonnire on the ar

bikeway. >> since he began his counting trek, suburbs ve replaced wilderness and the butterflies changed with the landscape. >> as sievation spreads, the natives withdraw and the weedy ones come in. and it's the natives that he is most interesd in because buttflies are what scientists describe as indicator species. they don't live very long i the wild. they have many generations over a relatively short period of time. that makes them perfe for the study of climate change. >> you believe that climate change? >> i know claimant change is happening. it's not a question, i would have to not believe -- an idiot that it's not happeni. >> reporter: causes aside, he knows this, that after all hi years of collecting and cataloging of butterflies the patterns are changing and fast, along with climate triggered biological timetables. as the wor warms, he has noted that some species now appear as

many as three weeks earlr than they did three decades ago. >> is it the end of the world? >> no. 's the end of the world as it was when we were kids. it's not the end of the world. >> reporter: no, change is a constant and normal state of affairs, he argues. the absenc of change would be abnormal. so says the curious scientt with no political agenda, excep finding the truth. have we hit our 11 species yet? >> nope, only eight. 11 wasust a guess. so whatever e truth is, the truth rules. that's the nature of science. >> reporter: from the sierra foot hills, wayne freedman, abcc 7 news. >> up next, a visit to the country's largest orchid

[ female announcer ] back to school means back to by mornings. that's why i got th pillsbury toaster strudel. warm flakpastry with delicious set filling my kids will love. plus i get two boxtops for their hool.

toastestrudel. the one kids want to eat. and these e the ones you'll love on a tuesday. pillsbury crescentogs, with just a few ingredients, you havean easy to. they're crescents for the her 364. try them tonight. >> wt to do cool stuff for half off? ha off! is celebrating its first anniversary with a whole new line. whitewater rafting thrill rides. dune buggies. and so much more. tune in to half off! today at 12:30 p.m. rht here on abc 7, >> if you have an orid plant in your home, it most likely

came from the nursery in the salinas valley. karina rusk look at how they grow and how they're changing lives. >> reporter: andy knows in business what is beautiful is not always profitable. in 1997, he cut flowers from -- cheap cut flowers from south america flooded the market. he need to do sowew seeds. his solution? potted orchids. >> i saw this is the one. >> reporter: he wanted this once excluse bloom to be affordable for all. he hired a doctor to help create what is now the largest orchid nursery in the united states. the science of mass orch production literally begins in a bottle. >> we have auger water, mineral and we have table sugar in there. you ha to get the concentration right, otherwise the orchids will either not grow or grow slowly, which makes them

more expensive. >> reporter: it can take twoo three years to move the plants from sprouts to store shelfs. at any one ti, the nursery has 10 million potted orids in production. the nursery stands 75-aes. the orchids are shipped from washington state to washington, d.c sharon ching is a frequent buyer and sells them at pin nursery in san francisco's flower market. the vaety ranges from the exquisite lady slippers to more familiar ones. >> 70 different colors. yellow, orange, red, i can remember that many. >> reporr: it turns out andy is not just passionate about orchids. hes using his success to help young people do someing he never did. go to college. six years ago, the nursery owner started a foundation. each year the nonprofit selects 18 students who have the grade for college, but not the money.

carla is one of this year's recipients. she ll use her $40,000 scholarship to attend sajose state university. >> i'm going to be able to live my dream to go to college and study nursing and be the first one in my family to go to college. i'very proud of that. >> reporter: so far, the orchid blooms funded 78 scholarships totaling more than $3 millio which means the nurserys cultivatg much more than pott plants. >> he is growing dreams, actually. and the dreams of these students and what they hope to accomplish in their lives, i think, is going to be tremendous. >> reporter: at age 75, andy knows his business decision re than a decade ago is paying unexpected dividen. his goal is to give away $100 million in scholarships. >> i'm looking at many kids to

se to school. >> reporter: that ishy these orchids are even more beautiful than they first appear. in salinas, abc 7 news. >> if you like more information on the stories on our program today, go to our web site and look under the news links on the left side for "assignment 7". that's all for this edition of "assignment 7". i'm eric thomas. thank you fojoining us. we'll see you next time.

[ fema announcer ] new pillsbury sweet moments lten brownie bowls rich fudge ovea warm, chocolate brownie like nothing you'vever had before ready made sweet moments in the refrirated section [ female announcer ] within everpillsbury package is the power to enrich a ild's mind. collect pillsbury double box tops for ucation today.