don't have time to wait. >> the district's plan to avoid even more state intervention. plus, president trump and governor newsom setting aside differences to survey fire damage in southern california, his visit just wrapping up, what the president said about federal help for the victims. and what's meant to make a san francisco street safer is causing some confusion, the debate over the new neck down road in the sunset district and exactly how it works. this is cbs news bay area with juliette goodrich. >> good evening. the alameda county superintend issuing a stark warning to the oakland unified school district. make massive cuts now or potentially run out of cash by november. da lin has the latest on how the district is addressing an urgent budget crisis. >> reporter: oakland unified has

been dealing with budget problems for years. the school board recently voted to not shut down schools and gave teachers a raise instead of making hard choices. the county superintendent said that's leading the district down a path of bankruptcy. ousd parent corina flores love their school, international community school in the fruitvale neighborhood. >> she loves ics because of her teacher miss sarah. >> reporter: that's why it was a big relief when the school board voted last month to not shut down ics. >> i wanted her to stay in a bilingual close. that's the main reason i close ics. >> reporter: district officials say merging ten schools that share the same campuses would have saved them some money. instead they're looking at

laying off administrators and educators. the district is facing a $95 million budget deficit for the next school year. >> we have to get our priorities in order. we probably try to spend on too many priorities. we also negotiated $100 million in raises and all these things together force us to adjust the budget going forward. >> reporter: director mike hutchinson is also chair of the budget and finance committee. he said the board needs to vote in february to adopt the layoffs so they can send out notices by the march deadline. >> if the board does not vote on this budget adjustment package next month, it will trigger a lot of bad scenarios because our budget we have currently would be locked in for next year largely, which would then push us over a financial cliff. >> reporter: oakland unified went into state's receivership in 2003 after taking a $100 million loan from the state. it's set to emerge from receivership next summer. the alameda county superintendent warns if ousd fails to cut

spending, it will go bankrupt, stay in receivership and lose local control. >> maybe the state does need to take over. >> reporter: some ousd parents say they don't trust the district and worry about mismanagement. >> we're at the point now where doing nothing is not an option and i would argue throwing our hands up and saying oh, that's just the same ousd, that's not an option either. >> reporter: hutchinson says they have to act fast and make some tough decisions ahead. >> it's going to be tough. hopefully it doesn't get really bad. i guess all we can do is prepare ahead. >> reporter: a big vote next month on the layoffs and other cuts. district officials say come june, they'll likely have to revisit the idea of merging schools. the district has about 34,000 students and 77 schools. >> the teachers union obviously unhappy with potential layoffs with the union president issuing a statement saying in part,

"this manufactured budget crisis can be solved by working with oakland educators to insure our schools are thriving and joyful places for every student to learn, grow, and dream." ousd isn't the only school district facing a deficit. the san francisco unified school district is also under pressure to cut $113 million to balance its budget in the upcoming year. the superintendent has said school closures are off the table for now, but more layoffs could be ahead for teachers and staff. president trump just wrapping up a brief trip to southern california to view damage from the deadly wildfires. anne makovec is joining me now with more on his visit and who he was with. >> yeah. governor newsom was joining him on the tarmac. >> we want to get it fixed. we

want to get the problem fixed and there will be some ways. it looks like you got hit by a bomb. >> yeah. we're going to need your support. we'll need your help. you were there for us during covid. i don't forget that and i have all the expectations that we'll be able to work together. >> the president's tour began in pacific palisades meeting with first responders and some families who lost their homes. 11 people died in that fire alone. it is still only 77% contained. the president offered help for the victims. he said he is waiving all federal permits for rebuilding. ahead of his visit today he had placed two conditions on california getting that support. >> right now the people don't have a voice because you don't know who is voting and it's very corrupt and we also want them to release the water. if they released the water, they wouldn't have had a problem. >> the president did not reiterate those conditions

during his visit at a roundtable discussion at the los angeles firehouse last hour. he did reiterate an order to reroute water from northern california down south. >> i'm signing an executive order to open up the pumps and valves in the north. we want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible, let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow down into southern california. >> earlier this week president trump signed a memo he intending to remove environmental protections for the sacramento san joaquin delta. his next stop this evening is in las vegas, where he is set to hold a rally tomorrow. >> thank you so much. also, firefighters are optimistic about controlling the flames. six of the seven active fires are now more than 50% contained with the threat now turning to mudslides and flash flooding as residents prepare for rain forecasted this weekend. >> better to do something ahead

of time than wait until the last second and not be able to do anything about it. >> sandbags and tarps are being handed out to locals for free in the region. meanwhile san francisco mayor daniel lurie taking part in a fire safety drill this afternoon, part of his tour of the fire department's neighborhood emergency response team system. >> what we learned today is that we need more people engaged in preparedness and emergency responsiveness. this program is one way. >> the program trains everyday citizens in disaster preparation with the mayor saying he's looking for at least 70 new sign-ups. now to some other stories around the bay area, community members in half moon bay are honoring the lives lost in the mushroom farms mass shooting two years ago. seven farmworkers were killed by one of their own in what became the largest mass shooting in san mateo county history. the incident shed light

on brutal living conditions for those workers with federal investigators finding people housed in cargo containers, garages, and dilapidated trailers. >> their legacy lives on in the form of our work to continue to fight and stand with farmworkers. their legacy lives on in improving housing rights across the coast. >> construction of the new mobile housing community for farmworker families is now underway. those displaced by the mass shooting will get first priority. the largest homeless shelter in santa clara county has a new look. officials cut the ribbon today at the newly renovated baccardo reception center in san jose with a remodeled lobby, privacy wall and privacy screens on the beds. the 250 capacity facility is run by home first, a bay area nonprofit working to end homelessness. >> part of our reconstruction included having an ada bathroom

added to our site. we have an aging population in the unhoused community and being sure to meet those needs is critical to the services we provide to our community. >> renee ramirez, ceo of home first, says the renovation is more than structural adjustments and a step toward increased respect and dignity for those sheltered. an early gift for lunar new year, free parking in chinatown. your first two hours at the portsmith square garage will be free in february. district 1 supervisor connie chen announced incentives to entice more shoppers to the neighborhood. residents and visitors can also ride muni for free during the lunar new year parade weekend on february 15th. still ahead, when two lanes become one, how one road in the sunset district is causing commuters all kinds of problems. plus, trading drama for donkeys, oh, yes, inside a

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there's a new road design meant to slow down drivers in san francisco's inner sunset. it's a neck down, a raised curb extension that narrows the road forcing drivers to yield. cbs reporter kara st. cyr went to take a look and spoke to cyclists and drivers who have some mixed feelings about how

well it's working. >> reporter: calan cohen's morning commute is often complicated by traffic between ninth and tenth avenue. >> we almost get hit by people in a rush. they don't see us. >> reporter: kirkham is one of the streets often reported for speeding. the solution was to install this, forcing traffic in either direction to slow down or yield. a spokesperson said past attempts to manage traffic with designated slow streets didn't stick. they wrote, "we sought to find a balance between calming speeds and insuring kirkham is still a valuable and viable thorough fare for cars, bicyclists, and emergency vehicles." anna benson who rides her bike isn't a fan. >> cars will drive in this lane in between the parked cars and the like new traffic thing and that's really annoying, especially for when i'm biking

and trying to get through here. >> reporter: benson says confused cars make the area more dangerous. >> they think it's a two-lane and they're like look how close that was. nobody honked, but that was very close. i just feel like this happens all the time. >> reporter: but janelle wong, a cycling activist and former executive director of the bicycle coalition in san francisco, says people are overlooking the benefits the change could have for cyclists and pedestrians by getting cars to slow down. >> anything that gets everybody to start thinking about what is approaching and being thoughtful and paying attention is actually a benefit to all users of the road. >> reporter: sfmta will decide whether to toss or keep the lane in the summer. >> to answer the question who goes first, according to sfmta, westbound vehicles have the right-of-way. so they're asking eastbound drivers to yield. coming up at 6:30, veterans can often have a difficult time adjusting to civilian life, but one man found a way to manage by

helping others. nancy cortes gives us a preview. >> hey, juliette. we go on the road to visit a veteran who found a way to cope by offering free home repairs and ended up fixing a broken heart along the way, that and more tonight on the cbs evening news. it has been three weeks since we've seen measurable rainfall in the bay area, but this is the radar simulation for weekend, a chance of scattered showers making its way in. we'll show things down and pause the maps along the way, show you when the best chance of rain will develop and how much we're potentially looking at coming up in the first alert forecast. hey, it's time to scope out the conditions with the latest toyota tahoe report. i'm jonny moseley, your host for the day. let's see what kind of weather we'll get into. >> there's been no new snow falling over the last 24 hours, but that situation is about to change. for the first time in three weeks, snow is likely in the sierra this weekend. a winter weather advisory goes

into effect at 7:00 a.m. saturday through 4:00 p.m. sunday. the heavy snow will fall saturday evening and overnight, a couple inches at lake level to up to a foot on some of the highest peaks, cold and breezy as well, 10 and 20s with wind chills dropping down to around zero. i don't think travel will become fully treacherous, but it's going to be slippery. so allow extra travel time, especially coming back from the sierra on sunday. be safe, enjoy the fresh powder,

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let's get to our all important first alert weather with paul heggen. i know you're saying it's in the record books for one of the dryest januaries, but we're not going to be third fully dry. >> at this point it's the third dryest record in san francisco dating back to 1850 if we had zero rain the rest of the month, but we've got a chance the end of the month. either way, it's been an unusually dry january. let's look what you need to know heading into the last weekend of january. nice view out from salesforce tower, clear skies other than the haze. it's going to be an unsettled weekend, not a washout, but occasional showers will be with us from saturday afternoon through saturday night and much of sunday. we'll cool off to near average high temperatures, even slightly below average the

next couple days, mid- to upper 50s, and a drier and slightly milder weather pattern takes over again the first half of next week. this little trend won't last long, just for the weekend. nice view of downtown, a hint of light on the horizon, nice to see even that after 6:00. temperatures are in the 50s across the board. we weren't as warm today as we were yesterday, but we're still above average for high temperatures. these will be closer to tomorrow's highs, even the warmest part of the day. get your dog walking done early in the day. it's a month since christmas tomorrow and getting through the last of our christmas-themed dog pictures here, trudy, may want to trade in that elf hat for a raincoat tomorrow afternoon, not guaranteed she'll need it, but the first chance of showers we've seen in three weeks or so. let's look how it plays out. we'll turn on some labels on the map when we turn on the radar simulation. the first part of the day looks mostly dry, a few radar freckles through early afternoon. as we wind the clock

farther forward, by mid to late afternoon the showers become more widespread and the forecast models indicate potential for locally heavy downpours. they wouldn't last very long in any particular spot, but don't be alarmed if you hear some heavier rainfall rates on the roof, especially tomorrow evening. that activity is moving south to north as everything pinwheels around this storm system with more intermittent showers tomorrow evening and tomorrow night. it's not a guarantee of anything more than a couple sprinkles, but you might see a couple snowflakes in the very highest elevations, a little frosting on top of the peaks, snow levels dropping down to around 3,000 feet as the cold heart of the storm system moves overhead. the cloud cover blocking the sun helps keep us cool, mid- to upper 50s across the entire bay area, most of us

between 55 and 57. the cool spots along the coast will be in the mid-50s, 54 degrees for half moon bay, the warmest spots, san jose but likely falling short of 60 degrees there. there's a wind advisory going into effect at 10:00 tonight for the north bay mountains, including the central valley and parts of the sierra into the weekend and in the sierra they're going to add up a little bit of snow. let's talk about how much could possibly add up with futurecast here. forecast models are never perfect, but they show the snow level dropping to around 3,000 feet with an inch or 2 at lake level and some of the higher peaks picking up maybe 6 to 8 inches of total snowfall. farther down the line there are hopeful signs heading into early february, the six to ten-day outlook and eight to 14-day outlook from the climb prediction center both indicate at least a weak trend towards wetter than normal conditions as we head into the new month.

seven-day forecast, that's the same one for everybody, so no real differences in temperatures from coastal to bayside to inland, everybody in the mid- to upper 50s this weekend, closer to 60 degrees for the first half of next week. there's that next chance of showers late thursday into friday next week, finishing off january with the chance of at least light rainfall. >> paul, thanks so much. when we come back, we are going to introduce you to one man who ditched his life of glitz and glam to care for abandoned and abused donkeys.

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with perry the donkey, the original model for donkey in the shrek movies making headlines after his passing, i want to highlight a donkey sanctuary in

the north bay called oscar's place and a man who walked away from the glitz and glam of hollywood to take care of his four-legged friends. our brian hackney gives us a look inside. >> reporter: among the grapevines of mendocino county, you'd expect to find spectacular wine, but off this country road through these red gates you'll find oscar's place and it's where ron king found his calling. >> this is leo. leo is a super sweet, super friendly donkey. donkeys are incredible animals. they're so emotional. they're so sweet. hello, mr. zeus. >> reporter: on this 75-acre ranch 100 miles north of the bay area, 160 donkeys have a second shot at life thanks to ron and his team. >> i am trying to raise awareness of donkeys. i don't think people think about them. i never thought about them. they never entered my brain. >> reporter: that's because

before this new life ron king was a senior vice president at time incorporated managing brands, hob nobbing with stars. >> i had a very different life before this and i never ever thought i would be rescuing donkeys. >> reporter: but when the job and the glamour went away in 2019, ron went away to think about things at his friend's ranch and stumbled across an article about the wholesale slaughter of donkeys. millions are sold at auction every year and then slaughtered and skinned, their hides used for traditional chinese medicine. so ron talked his friend, art dealer phil sellway, into turning the ranch into a donkey sanctuary. >> the first thing i thought when ron was giving this presentation was that he was crazy and i would be crazy to go along with this. it's absolutely blown me away and i could not be happier. >> reporter: how did you learn how to take care of donkeys? >> google. hey, siri, why does a

donkey's poop turn green? hey, siri, what's the difference between wheat straw a straw? i want to see this animal walk. look how she's holding her foot. will you please come look at goldy's rear right foot. hi, baby. how are you? >> reporter: meet patches, a good example of why they do what they do. >> patches is our most documented case of abuse. this was an unwanted animal that was abused by humans and then dumped for slaughter and he's happy as any donkey can be and that is why we do what we do. >> reporter: 41 baby donkeys have been born here and in just four years oscar's place supported by donations has saved the lives of more than 350 animals. >> that's sky. >> reporter: and they're grateful. >> we have animals say thank you for saving us every day and that has changed our life. >> reporter: it certainly

changed ron king's. >> donkeys are very trusting of me even though i used to be a media executive and i don't know anything about what i'm doing. >> i was a waiter and a senior vice president at the largest media company in the world and now i'm making sure patches' foot gets all the scratching he wants, couldn't be more different than my previous job, and i've never been happier and that's what we're all half, right? >> i get it, bravo. cbs evening news is next on kpix. local news continues on our streaming service cbs news bay area. we're back here in 30 minutes with cbs news bay area at 7:00. love that story, donkey sanctuary. i want one!