executions in the state of california could resume as early as wednesday. it could all come down a federal judge's decision. we will have that story for you live. >> how a robbery at a danville corn signment store led to two employees going to the hospital. >> demolition continues in san bruno for a second day. coming up we went beyond the barricades and will show you some rarely seen images from inside the disaster zone. ktvu channel 2 news at noon

starts now. >> complete bay area -- [ inaudible ] >> -- right now. this is ktvu channel 2 news at noon. >> good afternoon. topping our news this noontime a crucial decision on the death penalty. a judge's ruling today will determine whether executions can resume in california for the first time in five years. jade hernandez joins us live now with more. good afternoon, jade. >> reporter: well good afternoon. the state attorney general has pushed a fed rap judge to resume lethal injections, a decision is expected sometime today. we are live on treasure island this afternoon. earlier we spoke to lance lindsey in san francisco. he opposes the death penalty and heads death penalty focus. he told us if a federal judge in san jose reinstates the death penalty expect marchs and protests all over the state. he indicated church opponents and others will rally tuesday, the day before the first scheduled execution in san quintin in five years, this

after prison officials say they have ensured the process meets humane standards. >> there is no right way to do the wrong thing. there is no humane way to strap a human being down to a table and methodically ritual is tickly poison to death. >> this is a picture of the man executed next wednesday. albert greenwood brown was convicted of the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. should the judge to order the execution would take place next week. just this week they give us a tour of their new death chamber. they tell us they have trained more members, created new regulations and should meet the judge's requirements. >> we are following our execution regulations and those regulations are very very details, to the day and by the hour of what our executions are

and we are fully prepared to carry out an execution next week. >> the federal judge is expected to issue his ruling today. we did exact the ag's office and still waiting to hear back. jade hernandez ktvu channel 2 news. >> phillip garrido is expected to return to court within the hour where his attorney may challenge his mental competency. phillip garrido and his wife nancy are accused of kidnapping jaycee due guard in 1991. nancy garrido's attorney said yesterday a grand jury may by pass the hearing and head directly to trial but legal observers say a mental competency challenge could delay the proceedings for months. in the south bay authorities are warning female students to be cautious following two sexual assaults in the last two weeks. they took place at san jose city college in campus parking areas. the latest incident happened

around 4:00 tuesday afternoon at the lay avenue parking garage. police say a man grabbed a female student in a stairwell but she managed to fight him off. then last week on tuesday around 5:30 in the morning police say a man pushed a student back into her car and raped her in a parking lot near the science building. the attacks are making some students neous. >> it is kind of scary. i don't know why it would be happening like so close to us you know. >> i think they could have done a little bit more to make us aware of what was happening. >> campus police say they are patrolling parking lots more frequently but there are only three full time officers on duty and also working on suspect sketches. late this morning there was a takeover robbery reported at a furniture store in the east bay town of danville. kraig debro joins us now with details on what happened. good afternoon, kraig. >> reporter: good afternoon,

tori. i have been talking with the store manager and owners. it happened around 10:00 this morning. from news chopper 2 you can see the scene above the store. here is what i heard. after they opened this morning a manager in the back room heard a noise and in ran three men. the men sprayed pepper spray on the faces of two employees, protect the glass, scooped up the jewelry and left. the strength of the spray was so bad two of the employees had to go to the hospital. police came immediately here and others stayed back, other employees stayed back in the office when they heard the noise. >> it was rely noisy, actually and very frightening. we were not sure what the noise was from, so the employees who were in the office once the sound went down we went out to make sure everybody was okay. we were on the phone with 911 seconds after we knew it was happening. >> reporter: the manager says the people in the store, the customers helped the employees

with their injuries due to the pepper spray. store manager and the owners believe this was no crime of opportunity. they believe the three men had planned this crime in advance. the owners say they do not know how much hey that have lost but they have insurance to cover what they did lose. live in danville. kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. >> a new theory about a possible cause of the san bruno explosion points to a destructive colony of bacteria. the chronicle reports a phenomenon called micro biological influenced corrosion is now being examined, when bacteria comes to life in water, sometimes found at the bottom of a pipeline and begins eating away at the metal. pg&e has expressed concern about corrosion and has found a small amount of water in the pipeline in the past. cleanup continues at the site and this morning we were able to get a new perspective of the blast site.

claudine wong joins us with details on that. >> reporter: good afternoon, yes, we can show you some of the activity going on inside of the disaster zone here in san bruno as demolition and cleanup continues for a second day out here. this morning we were able to get beyond the barricades to show you a rarely seen look at what it looks like inside the disaster zone. >> safety, safety, safety, a lot of dangerous situations, stay in a tight group. >> reporter: for the first time in days our cameras were allowed beyond the barricades. >> we have three main zones we are working in, really a zone, a, b and c. >> reporter: while we have seen the devastation, inside the disaster zone are compelling images that many have not seen, the flowers someone has placed in fronts of a home where lives were lost. there remains a playground just yards from the explosion site where residents told us so many children used to play. >> get it done and get it done

right. >> reporter: inside the disaster zone you can hear another chimney falling down. the ipped of one neighborhood and the start of another. >> you can't replace a lot of this at the end of the day it is always going to be a house you raised a family in that capacity. >> it will be easier to see when it is not all just wreckage. >> reporter: they visited their house just outside the disaster zone. it is still not liveable but it is standing and when faced with this scene they feel lucky. >> amazingly if the wind had not come off the hills from behind us and gone the opposite direction, none of this would even be here. there is no doubt about that. so as unlucky and unfosht as some of this is there is a lot of silver linings here. >> reporter: crews say they are well aware how painful this process can be. >> we are local from the bay area, so, yes, you know, we are taking it serious, these are our neighbors. >> reporter: all around the disaster site water is being

used to keep the dust down. inside the barricades there are air monitors and monitors outside. the county says it knows residents are worried. >> absolutely be worried, i am worried, that is why we are doing continuing monitoring. >> reporter: so they watch and they are aware of the resilencey. >> we want to reward that attitude. >> that gentleman's home should be cleared in the next couple of days. they are going house by house. they hope to open up this neighborhood little by little. this entire process should take about three weeks. they are hoping to get it done before the official start of the rainy season in mid- october. claudine wong, ktvu channel 2 news. >> for the first time we are

hearing that california's record budget stalemate may soon end. after a meeting yesterday at the governor's private office in southern california, the so- called big 5 announced they have a framework for a deal. they did not disclose details of how they plan to close the state's $19 billion budget shortfall but the talks are set to continue through the weekend to put the finishing touches on the deal. a spokesman for the governor says they hope to have it finalized by late monday afternoon. he says the big 5 plan to meet monday pat the governor's office in sacramento, if they finalized an agreement the legislature would then have to draft the language for a budget. once that happens it heads to the floor for debate and a possible vote. it is a process which could take several more days. when a budget is finally passed it will be the latest in state history. one of the biggest public works projects in the bay area in decades, it is now officially underway. actress lindsay lohan faced

a california judge again this morning and she is very unhappy about what happened. summer arrives a little late and with a bang in the bay area, meteorologist mark tamayo has the warm weekend forecast. also. >> now the obvious answer is for all of us to stop eating fruits and vegetables. >> comedian steven colbert is invited by a by area man to testify on a subject that is normally not a laughing matter. in my pocket. k here's a good one: state farm insures 40 million drivers. more than geico and progressive combined. i saved because i'm accident-free. of course, with so many ways to save including discounts of up to 40%, having that many customers shouldn't be a surprise. so ask a neighbor about state farm, then call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online.

an accident early this morning left a bicyclist dead. it happened on interstate 505 north of vacaville after 1:00 a.m. police say 23-year-old randy hunter of vacaville somehow road into the lanes of traffic and was killed. the driver who hit the victim flagged down a chp officer. the highway patrol is investigating. a motorcyclist was critically injured this morning in a collision with a van near the oakland airport. it happened on hagenburger road at 6:00 a.m. the motorcyclist was taken to the hospital with major injuries traffic was tied up for hours because police shut down the road during the investigation. lindsay lohan is back in jail this afternoon after failing two dug tests while on probation. she reported to a court this morning, the judge refused to grant her bail and had her

handcuffed in the courtroom and taken directly to jail. lohan was taking part in an out patient drug treatment program when she testified positive for cocaine and amphetamine use. tmz has released a mug shot of lohan in jail today. this photo was just released during the past hour. this would be her third time in jail since the drunk driving and drug arrest in 2007. comedian steven colbert is addressing the immigration issue with a few jokes in washington, d.c. south bay congresswoman zo loft gren invited him to testify after he spent a day working as a farm laborer. he talked about his experience sarcastically, saying we could do away with farm workers altogether if we stopped eating fruits and vegetables. they say immigrant workers are not taking jobs away from u.s. citizens. >> this is manager, i don't

want a tomato picked by a mexican, i want it picked by an american and sliced by a guatemalan and served by a chile and in a spa. >> he asked him to leave and then withdrew that request. the hearing focused on a bill to give undocumented farm workers the right to earn legal status. a ceremony is being held in menlo park at this hour to kickoff one of the biggest bay area engineering projects in decades. a $347 million, five mile long tunnel will be cut under the bay from menlo park to newark to carry water from the reservoir, when completed it will replace a viaduct that runs on the surface of the bay south of the dumbarton bridge, which is vulnerable to earthquake damage. the project is part of $4.6

billion in upgrades to the s let's check out with meteorologist mark tamayo to see how warm it is going to get. >> temperatures already warming up, the warmest flirting with the 90 degree mark by this afternoon. mostly clear skies. a fog bank off orand a north early wind offshore and with that clear skies near the coastline and telephones warming up bay area wide. that classic fall pattern that always seems to develop this time of year and it will be in full force at least this weekend and also into next week. a look outside, clear skies oakland already in the upper 70s at 77 degrees, on track to reach the 80s this afternoon, so here we go with the weather story, call it warm for today, temperatures continue to trend upward this weekend that will set the stage for the hottest day, that is scheduled for monday. this afternoon the range lower 70s beaches, 80s around the bay, temperatures inland 90 to 92 degrees this afternoon. here is a look at some of the

current number, santa rosa at 80. livermore 82. san jose mid-70s at 75 degrees. high pressure building in overhead whenever you get that sinking air a warming air mass. the key though this time of year you get those offshore winds that traps port it closer to the coast and 80s in san francisco the weekend and the 70s near the immediate shoreline, the one big drawback though you can see fire danger going up, especially as we do head into sunday and also into monday. for today we are heading in that direction. you can see the grad r gradual trend. a beautiful evening with clear skies and temperatures this evening by 9:00 60s to lower 70s. santa rosa 88 later, antioch 92, concord 90. san jose upper 80s, last gots to 89, santa cruz should top out at 81 by 3:00 our 4:00 this

afternoon. here is a look ahead and nothing but sunny symbols here as you can see the five-day- forecast temperatures continue to trend upward into sunday, monday the hottest day of the period. then if you are tired of the heat by tuesday we are going to gradually cool things off but still a relatively hot day especially for the interior, the real cooling kicks in by wednesday and thursday of next week. tori a lot of people are heading to the beaches this weekend. we are expecting bigger waves and big rip currents out there so be extra careful whenever you head to the coast but this weekend could be especially dangerous. >> very good advice and you talk about the fire dinger you think we should be out of it by now. >> october a very dangerous month. >> thank you mark. >> sure. >> a federal judge may decide today whether to issue an injunction against the don't ask-don't tell policy. earlier this month the same judge allowed not allowing gays to serve openly in the military

is unconstitutional. the obama administration does not want an injunction, saying it should be up to congress to repeal the ban. this week ktvu is bringing you the stories of five people. today bill martin introduces us to a man fighting to keep more open space in a rapidly growing part of the north bay. >> reporter: for at least a decade people in the roseland area of sonoma county have dreamed of turning the land along their neighborhood creek into protected open space. early this year the city of santa rosa received a $2.5 million matching grant to acquire seven acres for a park and trail project. neighborhood volunteers want to buy and set aside another 11 acres. >> it is a really love area, the last bit of nature in that urbanizing area. >> reporter: dwayne dewyatt has helped lead the charge to acquire the land. he says the 11 acres had been

designated for a housing development. something neighbors opposed, but the economy eventually did in the project. >> there is a lot of empty houses and a lot of people who aren't really trying to buy houses, so that land that had been so attractive for the destruction of nature, to put in housing, is now better staying in a natural environment. >> reporter: the land went into foreclosure and now dwayne and others are trying to raise $400,000 to buy the land from the bank that owns it. >> we are not looking for a developed park. we are just looking for open space that is very passive and quiet and an opportunity to enter action with nature. >> we are trying to raise more money because we have bin told that both the city and the county don't have enough to complete the final negotiation with the bank that owns this land. >> reporter: they say they know it won't be easy. >> it is a scramble but we have

been at this for a long time and we are not going to give up. >> reporter: meantime dwayne and other volunteers will work to keep the area clean and wait for the day it becomes a protected open space. bill martin, ktvu channel 2 news. >> log onto ktvu.com to learn awl about all the nominees. click on the ktvu tv 36 logo ton the top right-hand-side to see the videos of local nominees. you can vote until october 10th for the hero you think should get a $5000 contribution for the charity of their choice. still ahead, opera in the park. it is happening tonight in a bay area ballpark and if the reports are true, a bay area -- professional sports team will have a new head coach for the first time in several years.

a good day on wall street. there was a report showing new u.s. single family home sales were flat in august but that was trumped by good news in spending. both of the indices up 2%, the s&p is also up 22. the nba coach who was won more games than anyone else apparently will not be coaching the golden state warriors next

season. numerous media reports say don nelson is out of a job. the 70-year-old coach has 1335 nba victories but warrior fans and bryan murphy say it is time for the warriors to have a fresh start. >> it was necessary, it was time. i think all warrior fans are breathing a huge sigh of relief because as great as his career was, and it was, it was clearly time for him to go. >> the official announcement is expected monday when training camp begins, the team is expected to replace him with his assistant keith smart and he is expected to still receive his $6 million salary. there is a rare opportunity for opera lovers to watch a fear form answer outside. they are hosting their annual free opera at the ballpark night at at&t park this evening. people will be able to watch a live performance on the park's big screen. the show begins at 8:00. tonight at 5:00 it is an

unscientific track in system but some say you can tell what is going on with the economy by the number of ships coming in and out of the port of san francisco. tonight we used this system to forecast the economy in the near future and look back at the year that passed. that story and more in our next newscast. ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. thanks for watching. have a great weekend. send comments to comments@captioncolorado.com captions by terry james, caption colorado, llc. e ret ma oilwi totr wco l wcote >> ...berber carpet. it was a whole bowl of stew. nooo. why? i could have saved this one. i could have saved this one. ♪ call 1-800-steemer