news4 at 5 starts right now. a good evening. thank you for joining us. new information regarding a controversial rate change for residential solar customers. terri hendry joins us with the latest. a lot of new twists and turns today for sure. >> reporter: the fallout get water. the public utilities commission voted to hold another hearing that could impact existing rooftop solar customers, grandfathering in existing customers. critics are working to allow you to have a say in all of this come november. 's two nevadans need the choice. it should be up to nevada to decide if they want to create their own power the solar or stay with energy. >> a new alliance, filed a referendum position monday morning. supporters say they need 55,000 signatures by march to get a question before voters this

if successful, they are hoping to overturn the rate change decision. >> what that will do is turn the net metering rolls back to what they were before sp 374 was passed. >> reporter: kevin is a new officer. this is a committee called me know solar tax pack. than others say this decision is hurting them. >> after the five year incremental changes to the rate structure, it will be cheaper and more cost-effective for me to pull the solar off my house. >> reporter: he said he not only lost his job in the solar industry, but he will need to replace part of his roof when he is forced to tear down his panels. he said he will be forced to do that five years out because otherwise, he will be paying higher utility bills than his neighbor without solar. still, he said he's better off than those who financed of their systems. >> they are still paying for the solar itself. on top of all that.

puc heard from customers. like naomi duerr. >> we estimated to pay up of eight years. the recent decision by the puc to change that math means we will never be paid back. >> reporter: after hearing from her and others, panel voted to hold a reconsideration hearing on the grandfathering existing customers but many hope the panel does more. >> i want the puc to think about the impacts of their decision and not just for those who have already invested, but for the many we hope will invest in the future. >> reporter: this new hearing is set for february 8. this will only look at weather to grandfather in existing residential solar customers under those old rates. as for future customers, this reconsideration hearing will not have any impact on them. we will look at the future of solar tonight at 6. for several years, experts have said that nevada has the potential for having another power for a quick.

region capable of handling one? jamie hayden spoke with building inspectors today and she reports from the washoe county court house. this is new at 5. >> reporter: washoe county court house is one of several buildings in northern nevada that is listed on the u.s. national register of historic places. it was built in 1910 making it and other structures a priority for county officials when it comes to earthquake safety. today we spoke with don jepson who is a building official with washoe county. he said there is not a big concern in the reno-sparks or washoe county areas when it comes to infrastructure safety if a large earthquake were to hit. still, he said the county makes sure it's buildings, especially the only ones like the courthouse, are up to date. jepson also said the county currently follows in international building code similar to the bay area. even though nevada is the third most seismically active state in the country, he said earthquakes are not the only natural occurrence of buildings are

>> we know has a special windy area. we have a 130 mile an hour design wins for our structures. we also have high snow load. we can exceed five -- 300 pounds per square foot those two by themselves are different than the bay area but it makes our structures more resistant. >> reporter: he said within the last 100 years, the courthouse building has been improved. we will tell you exactly what's been done coming up at 6. for now, i'm jamie hayden, news 4. officious with the department of public safety say it's important to have an emergency preparedness kit in your house in the event of an earthquake or any other natural disasters. you should have a water, 1 gallon per person per day. keep that in mind as a formula. you should also have a ready to eat canned food, prescription medication and hand sanitizer. it is important to have flashlights and extra batteries. have a whistle and gasoline.

that is a manual can opener so you can open up those canned foods that you have stored. these are a few of the items on the list. there are many more. for the full list and additional tips on how you can prepare for an emergency, head to our website, mynews4.com. more people are facing charges if the homicide of an 18-year-old man. carson city sheriff's detectives announced they arrested daniel lease and it keenan blackmore. in the death of grant watkins. this brings the number of people arrested to 7. according to detaches, this stems from a drug deal gone wrong about two weeks ago. a group of young men set out to rob watkins of approximately 3 ounces of marijuana. that's when things went wrong and someone opened fire, killing watkins. officials say they believe they have now arrested to the core of the offenders but they say additional arrests could come later. anyone with information is

city sheriff's office at 887 anyone with information is asked to contact the carson city sheriff's office at 887- 2500. a nevada highway patrol trooper was arrested and charged early friday morning in reno for driving under the influence. this is the first offense for trooper christopher war tenant based on court records. he is currently underpaid administrative duties and has not been working the roads since the arrest. this is according to an official at the nevada department of public safety. he said the trooper is cooperating with all the tests involved. we know municipal court judge show that they'll was set for $2000 and he was released on his own recognizance. his arraignment has been set for february 1. a quick peek outside on this monday evening. a beautiful shot. meteorologist, colin jackson it joins us with a check on the forecast. what a nice day it was today. a rough start, cloudy with a little drizzle but now we have pictures like this to show you where there is more snow for their saturday night. but

heavenly. that will likely arrive on saturday early in the day. sunday will be the biggest saturday. it will be an interesting commute for the second weekend in a row over interstate 80 heading west in points east tulsa. high pressure dominates the weather through thursday. things change on friday. 47 in the reno-sparks area. 47 and fernley. as usual a little cooler. air-quality still remains good. the 7-day forecast is coming up next. it is good and then changes again. back to you. drought fueled algae explosion may have killed off the fish at wright-patt reservoir. state wildlife officials say it t could take years to rebuild the popular northern nevada fishery known for its trophy sized while i and giant catfish. the safety do not know if these fish are still alive in the frozen lake near lovelock. the algae bloom happened

stagnant. it is not seen fresh water for about three years. officials say the lack of inflow combined with elevated minerals, low nutrients and cold temperatures apparently triggered the algae bloom. students in washoe county students return to school today , two weeks after district classes resumed for the rest of the schools after winter break. a broken water pipe flooded pine middle school on christmas eve. it destroyed 95% of the first floor. rebuilding the school, crews discovered asbestos under floor tiles and between the drywall. a third-party company had to come through and test each section of the school to make sure the asbestos was undisturbed before construction could begin. >> make sure there is no insulation. doing that and the containment procedures, that was at the same time. make sure nothing is released. all that lab testing comes back. was we have a clearance from

down and build it back. >> it's a big project. the district has spent $1 million in repairs so far. insurance evaluations are still inspecting the pipe that started all this. will they investigate the cause of the flooding, the funding for this project is still up in the air. all the noise, everything this past. 177 hours. the iowa caucuses are a week away but you may see in your name on the ballot. the other billionaire interested now in a presidential run. if you are feeling gloomy lately, it could be because of the stormy weather, shorter days. still ahead, how you recognize if you are being affected by seasonal depression and some tips on how to fight it.

weather for the rest of the week welcome back. the crowded race for president may add another candidate. new buzz about a billionaire interested in a late run. this comes as candidates prepare for the upcoming iowa caucuses. sarah dallas has the story. >> our nation in 2016 faces a real crossroads.'s two a week to go until the iowa caucuses and candidates are making final pushes to set themselves apart. among the most vocal, the so- called outsiders in the race including ted cruz, who picked up the endorsement -- endorsement of rick perry picks in all the noise. everything this past. 177 hours and iowa will speak. >> reporter: some politicos consider iowa to be republican

trump. chris cristie is powering on in the primary states. are vowing to be the standouts among all state governors in the race for president. >> i want to be the number one governor. >> reporter: pulls looking had to new hampshire show its ohio's governor, john kasich, surging ahead to third, even second place. on the democratic side, at least one poll over the weekend chouteau bernie sanders with a slight lead over a hillary clinton. a crowded race could grow more so. sources close to former new york billionaire mayor, michael bloomberg, say he is thinking of elite one of his own. only if the general election is a batch of between crews or trump and bernie sanders. >> i will relieve him of that and get the nomination. so he doesn't have to. >> reporter: political promises and candidates courting both

we will need to wait and see. super bowl 50 has been decided. the carolina panthers will play the denver broncos on february 7. the broncos eat the no -- beat the new england patriot yesterday. peyton manning will play in his fourth super bowl and he will be the oldest quarterback to do so at 39 years old. the panthers defeated the cardinals, 49-15 last night. this will be cam newton's first super bowl in his five-year career. carolina is an early favorite to win the game and it's the panthers second ever super bowl in the teams twenty- year history. over to the forecast and the weather, colin jackson joins us now with a first look at the forecast. we have a quiet week on tap but then things pick up into the weekend. he will have a clean car until friday. then everything will change. a live look from yosemite. how gorgeous is that. when you see the snow that high, that means it is a great season.

at least four years. doppler radar is very quiet. it will remain so. high pressure dominates the weather. anything interesting is on the other edge of the system streaking into alaska. we have to wait a few days for things ramp up and start gearing up for more weather coming our way. until then we will start to warm up. 49 today, a little bit above average. last week we had highs and upper 50s. that will go away later this week. it will be pretty cold starting sunday through most of next week. current numbers. not bad. elko coming in at mid-30s. 55 in some spots. everything will change. this will be a roller coaster over the next 4-7 days. winds are light. it will be like to tonight. clear skies. overnight lows will dip below freezing in many locations. right now reno is at 47.

south lake tahoe at 43. overnight lows of their between 15 and 20 degrees. 44 invalid. joseph allen. truckee at 36. changes, not your. warmer by a couple degrees each day as we advance for the rest of the week. winds are calm. friday will see that again. this picture will not change much. a little bit of scattered cloud cover coming through from time to time but most of tomorrow is sunny. toward wednesday morning we will see a few clouds role in. no rainfall associated with it. a partly cloudy day starting wednesday into thursday and a piece of friday as well. mostly cloudy skies prolean late friday and then everything changes. tonight it will be 29. and may be cooler in your backyard and that. mid-30s abide midnight.

mostly sunny and not much wind. south we surround 5-10 miles an hour. in the eastern section of the state, it will be cold. eureka down to 10. highs in the low to mid 30s at best. fallon at 26. 48 for a high in dayton. most locations on this map, tween 46 and 49 degrees. for overnight lows, between 24 and 28 degrees. at the like it will be cold. 16 in truckee. 19 and south lake tahoe. incline village will see a high of 41 after a low below 32 degrees. spanish springs down to 29. a high of 45. we're not done yet.

cold springs 26. here are the 70 numbers. nice and dry and warming up to almost 60 by the time we get to thursday and friday. the changes are there and what are the? 40, 70, any rain/snow mix for sunday morning. every week we get a storm. back to you. winter can be a tough season for many people. especially with this storm activity we seem. many folks are just what these dreary days to go away. there are ways to fight the winter blues. here is holly furfer with tonight's health minute. >> reporter: if you love the cold and outdoor winter sports, you have to admit, this is been a tough season. not only is at risk outside but shorter days and longer nights can bring on the blues. it's estimated at least 12 million americans suffer from a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder or sad. dr. say in severe cases, people with that become depressed.

function. through a chemical imbalance due to a lack of sunlight which can lead to a number of symptoms. such as fatigue, lack of energy, oversleeping, difficulty concentrating, and craving for foods high in carbohydrates that can cause weight gain. there are ways sad can be treated. modify your diet and exercise more. there especially designed light boxes that are used to treat those with a sad and at the problem becomes serious, some doctors will recommend antidepressants or psychotherapy to help patients get through the dark days of winter. and be with family. laughter and togetherness are great there before the winter blues. it's a perfect way to stay warm even if the temperatures outside our frigid. for today's health minute, i'm holly furfer. ben & jerry's has introduced to the newest flavor

presidential hopeful. and first, slaughter coverage -- tonight, a recent report from the us department of education is bogged down in a deficiency and mismanagement. what congress is doing to fix the mess. also tonight, a major drilling operation is underway in one neighborhood around town. who is doing it and who will benefit from it. that's what if you were asked about. i will tell you what i found out. that's coming up in my ascot show segment at 6.

ben cohen recently created a small budget ice cream in honor of his favorite president of candidate, bernie sanders. he made 40 pints of a flavor he calls bernie's yearning. it is a mint flavored ice cream with chocolate chips. he is giving away 25 pints any contest run by sanders campaign. the contest launched today and ends at noon on february 3. the ice cream is branded as ben's best and does not include a ben & jerry's logo. the website says ben & jerry's has nothing to do with this brand, the ice cream company based in vermont is often outspoken when it comes to political issues. it stopped short of publicly endorsing a candidate, sanders has served as a vermont senator since 2007. getting back to the ice cream thing, have you read the serving size on those? >> you cannot have much. >> the comedian said this once, a serving size is when the spoon hits the bottom of the container., that's the serving

>> [ laughter ] spirit that would be a lot of calories. weatherwise, we have changes on the way but not until friday. a snow/rain mix possibly saturday and sunday morning. obviously, more snow for tahoe. every week we have a strong to talk about. reno-sparks was good as well. temperatures in the upper 50s to almost 60 the average high for this time of year is in the upper 40s. not upper 50s. another warm finish. air-quality it may take a nosedive by the time we get to thursday. we will watch that then we will

friday night looks developing news tonight. buried by a history-making blizzard. dozens killed, cities and towns slam the. neighborhoods still stranded. a travel might they're. 13,000 flights canceled. the ripple effect all across the country. one week to go until the vote in iowa. a frantic sprint for clinton and sanders, cruz and trump. but is another new york billionaire about to shake up the race? >> a massive manhunt for three dangerous inmates who