on this 140 page application packet a few minutes ago and inside city hall more than 75 potential applicants were clamoring for more information but the city is only handing out four permits and getting one requires jumping through hoops, including getting a background check, having a lease ready to sign, and if you have cultivated marijuana in the past, you have to pay three years of back taxes before you apply. >> if we get the permit, we are going to get a big -- >> reporter: he unveils his company's vision of how to cultivate cannabis on a wide scale. >> down here, lift up these. >> reporter: city works for oakland based weed grow, the country's largest hydroponics grower. >> we have been anticipating for a while here what they want so we have been working hard and trying to figure out exactly what it is so that way we are at least close. >> reporter: he says as a local company it has an advantage.

wee grow has already picked out a large site with at least 100,000 square feet and a -- in a building that big, the company could grow $71 million worth of pot and that could bring in more than 3 million in tax revenue but some small scale growers who didn't want to be identified say commercializing cannabis will hurt the local economy long term. >> little growers will be knocked out. >> reporter: but the ceo of farm sphere, an east coast company says the game has changed. >> wall street is watching very keenly and becoming more and more involved in the medical marijuana business. >> reporter: no longer a private even secret home based operation, growing pot could soon enter the publicly traded arena. >> everybody, you know, has been for the last 20 years doing what they have been doing what they have been doing and not anticipating this moment but it's already been leading up to this moment pretty much. so it's inevitable. >> reporter: applications are due december 22nd and city officials say they will be ready to hold public hearings on the finalist early next

year. reporting live in oakland, patti lee, ktvu channel 2 news. as the busy holiday travel season gets underway, more attention being paid to those controversial full body scans and pat-downs at airports. passengers traveling through airports this week will see or hear a new message from tsa chief john pistole reminding them about security measures. it essentially explains procedures, options and the reasons behind the searches. his message comes amid the backlash from some people against the government's use of full body imaging machines and new invasive pat-downs. >> i think they do need to readdress it. i think they need to look at how it's impacting people. >> anything for safety really. i mean, i don't -- i would rather have them doing their job more thoroughly than not as thorough. >> reporter: pistole says the tsa will review the procedures but it won't happen until after the holiday travel rush. as families head out for the highways for holiday travel, a new first ever statewide survey on driving

issues finds distracted driving to be a growing problem. according to the california office of traffic safety survey, speeding and aggressive drivers are their biggest concern while behind the wheel, but distracted driving is now a close second. 60% said talking on cell phones, whether it's hand held or hands-free is the most serious distraction. we were on storm watch tonight as another winterlike storm takes aim at the bay area and up in the sierra the snow has been piling up just in time for the thanksgiving holiday. ktvu's christian kaplan is in pacifica where the stormy weather is causing concern near the ocean cliffs but first we begin with john sasaki out in the snow at bull kann -- blue canyon. >> reporter: this is i-80 westbound, aside from that truck virtually empty here, very quiet. most of the afternoon traffic moving quite easily. over these berms of snow built up were by passing plows plenty of snow, trees, all of this snow piled up here.

i'm trying to walk through three or 4 feet of very light snow, easy to get stuck here. ktvu meteorologist bill martin told me that he cannot remember the last time there was this much snow built up before thanksgiving at any time in the past quite a few years. as much as 6 feet just this past weekend. >> reporter: just about everywhere you look along i-80 winter is bliss. snow piled up covering trees and bringing smiles to the faces of children as they throw snowballs or jump on their sleds and saucers. >> i have a lot of fun here and -- >> reporter: why? >> i have fun sledding down. >> i think it's cold. >> reporter: it's not so fun? >> it is except when you like crash into the snow and everything, but it's really fun. >> reporter: fun for some but not for others. this man from san francisco found himself unprepared to deal with the road conditions. >> i think about driving back

now. >> reporter: why is that? >> i don't know what's going on ahead of us. we have 10 more miles to go. >> reporter: all in all people here seem to appreciate all the new snow but then those in four- wheel-drive vehicles will usually have an easier time traveling this time of year in the mountains. >> it wasn't bad at all, you know, road is being cleaned, you know, not a whole lot of traffic, not a lot of trucks, so, you know, go slow and enjoy some time with your family. >> reporter: the chp told me today was a good day on the roads with few problems but that is sure to change because bill martin tells me a winter storm warning will be in effect tonight and a foot of snow is due overnight. live in blue canyon, i'm john sasaki ktvu channel 2 news. from john sasaki, let's go straight now to christian kaplan in pacifica where the problem is eroding cliffs. christian. >> reporter: yeah, and of course any of that rain makes those cliffs a little bit more prone to collapsing. we are actually getting a few drops here and there. focuses here in pacifica --

folks here are getting ready for winter, part of that means getting a big crane ready to stabilize the cliff. the latest effort to try to stop the cliff from collapsing. crux santa cruz -- construction crews tried to -- >> we are going to add more nail walls to the bluffs here. >> reporter: city inspectors say there haven't been any major changes to the cliffs here in the last few months. but work crews say this past weekend's wet weather has everyone on high alert. >> the erosion is eminent -- imminent, it's all there. if we get a lot of rain, it's going to erode the cliff. the coastal commission has to start looking at that. >> reporter: this weekend's weather also provided an opportunity for san francisco's public utility crews to learn which sewer grates were blocked. today crews used a giant vacuum to clear op the -- off the tops of grates across the city and sucked out debris that could cause intersections so flood. >> sometimes people don't see them and accidents can happen

were so what we try to do is we try to take care of the public also for their safety and ours. >> reporter: today's off and on rainy weather brought down a palm tree branch on some powerlines in oakland's fruitvale district. power was knocked out for a few blocks in each direction while pg&e repaired those lines. we are live in pacifica, christian kaplan, ktvu channel 2 news. more dramatic testimony today at the preliminary hearing involving seven defendants accused in the gang rape of a richmond high school student. retired richmond police detective ken greco testified that one of the defendants told him he back handed the victim across her face. he says 20-year-old manuel ortega said he did it quote because she wouldn't shut up during the assault. and that she was whining no, no. the hearing is expected to last at least two more weeks. the family of a german tiewfert who was the victim of an -- tourist who was the victim of an unsolved killing is going to san francisco to visit the spot where she was

shot down. the stray gun fire came from a shootout between teenagers outside of a private party. the victim's husband says he has no hard feelings against the city and will return in april with the couple's two sons. a hotel chain and some restaurants in the union square area are offering the family free rooms and free meals during their visit. berkeley police are looking for 27-year-old man suspected of raping a girl inside her own bedroom at her home on evelyn avenue. investigators say omar sosa lived in the berkeley neighborhood where the assault happened early saturday. the attacker entered through an unlocked bedroom window. officers say sosa may be on his way to mexico driving a 1997 ford ranger pickup truck with a double cab and white camper shell. the girl's age has not been released by police and authorities are not saying whether anyone else was in the home at the time. an unusual rescue mission underway in the south bay to save more than 1000 rats.

where and how they were discovered is even more bizarre. ktvu's march reason nailer -- maureen naylor joins us now. >> reporter: there are more than 1000 domesticated rats in this room alone inside all these cages and this population started because of one pregnant rat whose owner didn't separate the males from the females of the litter. they are very curious. the idea of rats may make you schemish but before you turn your nose up at these whiskered creatures, check out the maternity ward. >> these guys are about a week old probably, so these guys came up on the transport with us and they are about to open their eyes shortly. >> reporter: in the last 24 hours, 25 baby rats have been born at this temporary rescue shelter inside andy's pet shop in downtown san jose. >> we had three litters born last night, two the night before. so it's been nuts. our estimate is about 1000 to 1200 without the numbers of babies being born. >> reporter: danville based

north star rescue is one of several animal groups which recently recovered the rodents from a home near palmdale where one man kept them all at pets. >> the house was literally covered in rats. there were rats in every room, literally hundreds in every room so you had to walk very carefully not to step on any of them. >> reporter: the rescued rodents were brought here saturday and will be featured in upcoming episode for a&e's reality show hoarders. the pet shop's extra room is covered with stacks of containers with rats inside waiting to be checked by veterinarians. workers today wrapped cages with extra wire to prevent any escapes which is one concern volunteers have been getting phone calls about. >> this building is airtight. we made sure we went around with volunteers, checked for any holes, any gaps. >> reporter: the rats won't up for adoption until the 25th. these animals will be spade and neutered and adopted in pairs of boys or girls in hopes of avoiding the initial problem.

reporting live in downtown san jose, maureen naylor, ktvu channel 2 news. new information tonight about the horrifying death of a toddler who died after falling 50 feet last night following the warriors-lakers game in los angeles. 2-year-old lucas anthony tang of garden grove fell from a third level luxury suite at the staples center moments after the game ended. los angeles police reportedly say his parents were taken pictures of him just before he fell. they were reviewing photos on their digital camera when they lost track of the boy who then somehow crawled over the glass partition. ktvu news just received pictures moments ago after the u.s. coast guard rescued a man it says was stranded for five days on an island in suisun bay. they found 54-year-old brian hopper on rowe island today. the peers are now used by the army. now, here's a look at those pictures we just received. the coast guard says hopper was stranded after his inflatable craft sank. hopper used his cell phone to

tell family members he could see ships and hear bugle calls but besides that, he didn't know what island he was on. paramedics examined hopper and said he is in stable condition tonight. unemployment benefits will soon run out for hundreds of thousands of californians. why some say extending those benefits is not a good idea. plus. >> reporter: there's a controversial plan for pharmacies in san francisco to fix a problem you might not know has existed. that story still ahead. and another round of showers headed your way, cold showers perhaps some more snow. i'll have the specfor your neighborhood. i'll see you you back here in just a minute. plus the dangers of a certain thanksgiving tradition. bay area firefighters show off the do's and don'ts this holiday.

a mixed day on wall street. the dow jones fell 24 points as investors worried about european debt. but the nasdaq closed up 13 points. after the closing bell, bay area based hewlett-packard raised its 2011 earning and revenue forecast due to solid sales. unemployment benefits about to run out for hundreds of thousands of californians unless congress takes action. democrats argue that cutting those benefits would hurt the economic recovery. but other people say extending them could add millions to california's growing deficit. republicans at the federal level say that can be avoided by utilizing unused stimulus funds and then there's also the argument that extending the benefits will provide a bigger incentive for unemployed individuals to remain unemployed. >> there are many people that suggest that it's a disincentive and i have no doubt that for some people it may be and that gets to the issue of how much is the

benefit. >> one government watchdog group estimates 15 million people are unemployed nationwide and only 3 million job openings. san francisco would become the first city in the country if it passes a controversial new regulation to be proposed tomorrow that would require drug companies to take back old medicines. the reason, to stop pollution. ktvu's health and science editor john fowler is live tonight in san francisco now with more on this. john. >> reporter: under the plan pharmacies would have to provide a bin, a locked bin for their consumers to put in medicines that had been used and all of it would be paid for by drug companies. people told us getting rid of unused medicines is confusing. >> i recently had occasion to have to dis depose of -- dispose of some of those things and i didn't know what the best way to do it was. >> i think it's an important problem. a lot of people are dumping the prescriptions down the toilet and going into our water system. >> reporter: studies show bay

water have contained levels of the medicine. >> fish exposed to hormone like he is tra general have -- estrogen have become the opposite fish. >> it's a great problem for our waste water systems. >> reporter: pharmaceutical manufacturers today told us a nationwide drug takeback program is preferable to quote a confusing patchwork quilt of state and local programs. right now customers can get a mail back envelope free from the san francisco health department or buy one from pharmacies. would people pay extra for a drug disposal program? >> $2 for an environment? okay. i am willing. >> anything that will help the environment and all the species on this planet, i'm for. >> reporter: the proposed drug takeback program faces an uncertain future even if passed by the board, mayor gavin

newsom may veto it. environmental activists say the best course is to wrap old medicine in plastic and throw them in the garbage. they are better off in landfills. reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. firefighters on the peninsula today demonstrated some of the dangers that cooks may face this holiday season. the menlo park fire department gave a simple but very graphic demonstration of what happens when water is used to try and put out a grease fire. the fire officials say the way to deal with a stove top grease fire is try and put the lid back on the pot, that way it will smoother the flames. and figures show smoke alarms also save lives. >> giving your family the gift of changing your batteries in your smoke detectors to make sure they are working and working correctly. >> and that wasn't the only demonstration. here you see another one, firefighters did the same demonstration with a turkey fryer and again urged cooks to

always keep a working fire extinguisher nearby. the holiday season moved into full swing today in the east bay with the raising of a 4-ton christmas tree in oakland's jack london square. the tree was trucked in from mount shasta. the tree lighting ceremony is set for friday, december 3rd, a day before the annual lighted boat parade on saturday december 4th. onto the weather now. boy, this week we have got a lot of things that we are thinking about here. bill, you're tracking possibly some snow, some rain as well. what's going on? >> yeah, continuation of what we have been seeing of course last week we had record heat. this week we are dealing with what feels like february weather. we are going to see probably a freeze warning going into effect over the next 36 hours. that is unusual for this early in the year. what we are seeing outside right now are very limited showers, a little action over by richmond all towards -- out towards albany, lafayette, very light showers not a big deal. showers will increase tonight, not a big rain event but

scattered showers in your morning forecast. now that could impact your morning commute as you drive into work. afternoon should start to clear out but it does mean more snow in the mountains and even perhaps on bay area peaks. look at some of these snowfall totals since friday and we are talking upwards of 6 feet, even a little more than six. 78 inches in bore-all -- borial. i can't remember where we had this much snow before thanksgiving. i talked to folks in tahoe and they say the same thing. so it's a big deal. lot of snow up there. for us a winter weather advisory. this goes into effect tomorrow morning because as this system comes in a little bit of snow above 2000 feet, very few of us live there, but if you do, you might get a little bit of snow to an inch indicative or illustrates how cold the overnight low temperatures are -- or how cold they are going to be as this cool air comes in, another round of weather, very weak dynamics but enough

to bring sprinkles between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. afternoon commute marked with clearing skies and then the cold air lingers and we will see temperatures in the morning hours into the upper 20s. that's really, really cold. that's why there's a freeze watch in effect tuesday night into wednesday morning. so lots of cold-related things going on. the forecast tomorrow morning there's your sprinkles, your forecast for the afternoon commute, there's your drying. so maybe a sprinkle in the afternoon but i think your morning would be the best shot for a sprinkle so you get the picture. daytime highs tomorrow just in the 50s and a five-day forecast looks a lot more like late december early january than it does thanksgiving time. this really -- this is really unusual. >> and the lightning we had over the weekend, wow. >> big storms. >> thanks. and we will be right back. closed captioning for this program brought to you by mancini sleep world.

a follow-up now on a story we brought you last week. we checked with executives today from two youth football teams, both known as the oakland dynamites still trying to raise 50 -- raise money to go to florida. so far only about $1000 has been raised. if you want to help, go to web

links at ktvu.com. mark is here now with sports. more awards in baseball today. >> yeah, the big daddy awards this week, most valuable player awards and you can say he is not a household name but i'll tell you what. there's not a major league team that wouldn't want him in their clubhouse. that would be joey bato. overwhelmingly selected as the national league's most valuable player, easily -- great statistics himself but bato leading the reds to the central division title hit .324, 37 homers, 113 rbis and even more great stats we don't have time to go into. very deserving of that. boy the nfl waiting no time in coming down hard on the oakland raiders. richard seymour if you didn't see it against the steelers yesterday, big time cheap shot and seymour for nailing ben roethlisberger like that gets a slap down himself to the tune

of $25,000. well, i guess at this point you just call it piling on if you really get down on the 49ers. i think even casual fans can see it clearly at this point, they are just not a good football team. they are 3-7 and if you listen to the guy at the podium at their headquarters this afternoon, they need work at coach too. >> you're going to say am i doing a good job? obviously at 3-7, no. i would say that i wouldn't even dave to say i'm doing a -- dare to say i'm doing a good job but it's not over yet. i think the most important thing for me is that we have a game coming up monday night. ask me after that game if i do a good job. there's another coach who has 3-7 record, i guess you could say doesn't anymore because the vikings let brad child res go today -- childress today, fired one year after leading the vikings to the nfc championship game he is out. he was at odds with just about

everybody including brett favre, of course there in minnesota. that's the sporting life for right now. >> job security in the nfl. thank you much. >> thank you. coming up on news at 7:00 on tv 36, it's a small image on a live mueller that's been -- mural that's been sitting in the heart of napa for several years. this is a depiction of the cue crux than -- ku klux klan. one family wants it removed and they are wondering why it's there at all. have a great evening, everyone. >> good night.