ken pritchett is live at boreal where the snow has been piling up all day, ken. >> reporter: it has and you can see people here at boreal ski resort under the lights in the ski lift. they are enjoying this fresh snow today. they are night skiing and they can do that until 9:00 tonight. boreal is reporting more than 2 feet of snow in the past 24 hours up to 5 feet over 48 hours. we took our snow shovel to the parking lot here. that's about 6 inches of snow that has just fallen since this morning. over in this direction, you can see the taillights of cars traveling eastbound on interstate 80. they are just about to go over the summit. they are moving faster now than they were an hour ago. it was a slow drive up interstate 80 for us when we traveled up this afternoon. but it was slow but not because of the chain controls. >> we saw many caltrans plows

working interstate 80 this afternoon, despite several inches of snowfalling, chains were not required, eastbound over the summit. that was throughout most of the afternoon. caltrans did its job and kept the interstate relatively clear. that did not mean the drive was swift. it took us 2.5 hours to drive from auburn to immigrant gap. it should have taken us about 45 minutes on a clear day. while there were no chain controls, we found plenty of people chaining up, including david brown from san carlos. >> we are just trying to be cautious. we don't have super great traction and we want to make sure that we're safe. >> reporter: so it was a slow burrelltively easy drive over the summit because chains weren't required this afternoon. that has changed now. the chain control is in effect from nyack and placer county all the way over the summit 7

miles east of truckee. near donner summit, ken pritchett. >> you don't have to go all the way to the sierra to find snow. the lick observatory was closed today after snow blocked the road leading to the pick at 4,200 feet. more snow is expected tonight. and it isn't just the sierra and that area we just spoke about a moment ago getting hammered. the south bay had problems with rain. john fowler is live on a road tonight that had to be one of the most dangerous. >> we're on highway 17, from my breath you can see it's cold, by looking at the head lights you can see that it's raining. this is now become one of the bay area's most treacherous roads. >> reduce speeds and look for that vehicle in front of you. >> reporter: just minutes ago, truck driver ed sotelo pulled over. >> this kind of condition right now it's really hard to see. so i have to take a break and let it die down a little bit.

>> reporter: fog and rain. problem drainage and too much speed. >> we've had several vehicle spin outs, and you know all of which could have been prevented if we just slowed down a little bit. >> reporter: this red honda rolled over on the downhill curve, officers told us it was the most dangerous today. it backed up traffic 3 miles. debris and mud slides covered roads. these homeowners are right now dreading tonight's high tides. >> if we get big waves we're in big problems, because all this damage is done by that creek. >> as we first told you a month ago today, abtos creek diverted threatening these homes. another foot of sand fell today. homeowners say at every level agencies still refuse to help. >> well, it's only my house.

you know. that's all. >> reporter: good news is there's very little wind but that high tide they're worried about comes in five hours. john fowler, ktvu channel two news. chief meteorologist bill martin has been tracking the storm all afternoon, and how is it looking now? >> i tell you right on the afternoon commute and a get away, the rain is coming down in most of the area. these red and yellows are being exaggerated by the freezing level. it it's raining don't get me wrong, but it's moderate rain. so when you see those most of this rain light to moderate. hayward is light rain right now. san francisco i have reports of heavy rain just a little bit ago. you can see the green across the golden gate bridge, the bay bridge, the richmond bridge. all the way into the north bay is hampered by wet roadways. winter storm warning has been

extended. storm levels are low. we will see plenty of snow in the bay area peaks tomorrow. we have the latest computer model, got a little bit of rain in on saturday. i hate to tell you that. i'll show you the exact details on your weekend back here in just a few minutes. you will find a slide show of the best pictures of the storm on ktvu.com. we have breaking news right now out of san francisco that's doing to cause major headaches for b.a.r.t. commuters. an electrical problem is causing a delay of 10 minutes or more. there's no word yet on how long those delays will last. and harbour side health center handles millions of the dollars of drug transactions.

the irs is auditing the corporation. the outcome could accomplish whether the irs treating medical marijuana as a legitimate business or illegal drug trafficking. the contra costa district attorney spoke out for the first time late this afternoon about the case against the former commander of the drug task force. he said that the evidence against normal welsh is considerable and that the case is horrible for everyone involved. john sasaki reports, the real bomb shell in the case came from welsh's attorney. michael cardoza. >> there's responsibility here but he made a mistake. but he stepped to the plate when he was caught. >> reporter: michael cardoza asked for and received a reduction to 400,000 in bail enough to get welsh out of jail in the next two hours or so. cardoza is defending the task

force. >> this is an individual situation. it does not affect other officers at all. >> reporter: the prosecutor argued against a bail reduction by describing the case against the pair. >> this is a sophisticated scene not just a street dealer but also an officer who has been entrusted with property, taking it out of a locked facility at the sheriff's offices evidence room. >> reporter: the crack down ended two days ago the day welsh and butler were arrested. they include sales and transport, burglary, embezzlement and conspiracy. but with a value of no more than $10,000. >> it is outstanding that one would take a risk for that amount of money. >> reporter: butler's attorney was not as forthcoming adds cardoza. >> i'm representing a private investigator that got implicated in this and the details of this will come out.

>> reporter: again that was ktvu's john sasaki reporting from martinez tonight. the judge presiding over the barry bonds perjury case asked both sides to consider a plea bargain. the prosecution and the defense did not -- bonds' attorney told ktvu he expects the case to go to trial next month. the former giant star faces four counts of lying to a federal grand juror and one count of obstructing justice. the house of representative tonight -- for you to stand on the floor and say that somehow this is a

procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly or done without any thought is preposterous. >> reporter: spears says she had an abortion because of the loss of her child. governor brown had ordered has ordered rather state agencies to stop handing out so called swag. >> having these kind of plastic adds up to millions of the dollars. that's something we ought to eliminate. >> reporter: brown says california spent $7.5 million on key chains, bags and other items between 2007 and 2010. the order is part of his effort to close a $27 billion budget deficit. and just a few hours ago, the senate and assembly budget

economies approved many of the proposed $7 million in cuts. they also refuse to eliminate adult day health care. a state lawmaker has introduced a measure that would make the state's attorney general defend all voter approved laws for legal challenges. the bill is in response to the battle over proposition eight. the statewide ban on same-sex marriage. republican state senator tom harmon says it's not up to politicians to determine the constitutionality of an initiative. the california supreme court this week agreed to decide if the supporters of a proposition have authority to defend the measure in court when state officials refuse to do so. >> coming up next -- we'll have this story. >> tearing this ship up is going to help build up the battered economy of vallejo. tom vacar, that story still ahead. facebook gets friendly with same-sex couples.

the new change made today just for gay men and lesbians.

transportation officials are considering installing dozens of freeway meeting lights along highway 101. the metropolitan transportation commission caltranss and the transportation authority of moran are discussing the idea. authorities are considering installing lights on 43 of the county's freeways. the lights are a low cost way to make freeways more efficient. officials say it will take two years to finish an analysis of the plan. the b.a.r.t.

board has created a special economy to -- the issue is not on the agenda for the board's next meeting on february 24th. beginning at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, east bay commuters will be able to take the first bart train from the new west dublin-pleasantton station. it is the first station to be added in the middle of an existing line. local dignitaries celebrated the opening of the station this morning. the station includes 1,200 parking spaces. bay area travelers planning a hawaii get away will soon have a new more options beginning march 5th, hawaii airlines will add more flights.

they will discontinue direct flights from san jose to san antonio, texas next week. >> i bet there's a lot of people in the bay area who would like to be on their way to hawaii. because in the last week we've had a lot of rain and it's not going to stop. >> lots of rain, area distribution from santa rosa south to san jose. i've been mentioning this all night. these oranges and yellows don't be alarmed they're not thunderstorms, not hail it's just rain. the radar is misrepresenting what's coming down. i will tell you this though, you have rain in fremont. it's moderate in milpedas. rainfall that's probably windshield wipers in medium. the bridges are wet, the roadways are wet and your afternoon is probably tkraáging on slow. here's what we got tonight, it's cold. temperatures will be on the cool side. we'll see snow on bay area peaks. we go into the weekends and

we're looking at showers again for saturday. overnight lows, that's cold. when you wake up in santa rosa, san helena is going to have snow. diablo, hamilton, skyline boulevard snow. it's a cold system. it's heading up into the mountains, winter storm warning has been extended again. tough going right now, you're chaining up on both those roads and you will be all night. the system tomorrow lingers, maybe a sprinkle. i'm going to show you that in the computer model. mountain the snow keeps going basically. as you head to lake tahoe, winter warning. snow levels are low, that's what makes it tough. so if you're chaining up, you're chaining up in blue canyon down by auburn. that is a long trip in chains or four wheel drives. friday at 8:00, still scattered showers, you come back to the 10:00 news and we will show you more showers at 11:00. light showers, as we get into the early morning hours it

moves off. now here comes saturday. widely scattered showers, saturday morning. saturday afternoon, julie haener this is you. maybe something for the chinese new year parade. i have to put a sprinkle in there because it's in the area. forecast highs tomorrow, these are just in the 40s. coming up to the parade, mid- 40s, upper 40s as best. maybe a sprinkle or two. five day forecast chilly and wet one. we're doing good. we're getting some rainfall. >> if you are getting a little rain and you still want to watch it. you can watch it right here on ktvu. michael hennessey has announced he will not seek reelection in november. in a memo to his staff, he announced he will step down at the end of his tomorrow after serving 31 years. he is the longest serving member on san francisco roster of elected officials. during his tenure, he has

talked about in custody education and anti violence services. san francisco voters could decide this fall whether to ban circumcision of male children. lloyd feshield says he is on track to get enough signatures to pass the ban. the energy performance law creates a program that will help building managers evaluate their energy use and set efficiency goals. >> they brought together building owners, building managers, tenants of this building to collaborate with city hall about what we can do to help reduce the amount of energy we use as a city.

>> reporter: a san francisco board of supervisors passed that bill last week. starting today, gay and lesbian facebook users can more clearly identify their relationship. facebook now allows users to choose the option of in a domestic partnership or civil union on their profile page. facebook says the change allows people to authentically reflect their relationship. >> we'll be right back with more after this short break.

the city of vallejo is celebrating the opening of a new recycling facility. tom vacar shows us why it could provide a real boost to the local economy. >> reporter: before mayor island shipyard closed, ed mosta spent eight years working for the the shipyard. well last week, the 68-year-old came back to help dismantle the ship. >> i was a little bored and thought i would come down and teach people how to do it.

now it's rebirth. >> we have two interstates that come through our city, we have water, we have everything that we need to make this a viable place for this kind of industry and for other kinds of industry. >> reporter: already the aus ton company refurbishes ships here. this firm is a large scale aluminum recycler, and two other companies recycle machine systems. >> this can be a very thriving industrial area. and that's what we intend it to be. >> it will open up the whole surrounding area, not just vallejo but all the people associated with vallejo would be greatly increased in business and going on with business. >> if we're going to survive economically we have to have an

industrial based such as mayor island. >> that was ktvu's tom vacar reporting from vallejo. >> all star weekend. >> they have the dunk contest and the three point shooting contest. and the warriors have a little activity going along those lines. they department have anybody for the actual game but darrelle wright will be part of the line up for the three point shooting contest. great acquisition, leading the nba of three point shots made. seems to be taking the right approach to be appearing on the big stage. >> i wouldn't say it's important to win it. i think it's important to compete. i'll be in front of my family, my friends in l.a. being from l. a. it's going to be a big deal. so i'm looking forward to it. a lot of excitement and a lot of people waiting to see me in that big stage. >> so you're going to give out tickets. >> no, a lot of people are watching at home.

i don't have that right now. they're charging $3,500 a ticket. >> freddy couples 52-year-old is leading the event. i have to show you the shot of the day. and let's have a look at it. pretty good effort from justin rose here at the 17th hole. it's a five shot hole and he will not need those five shots to go past the cup and rolls back in to the cup for an eagle. justin rose your shot of the day. nice bay area slant to it. tara vandevere is part of the race. the announcements coming up shortly as to who makes it to the hall of fame. that's the sporting life for now. >> thank you, and thank you for joining us tonight. good night. >> good night.

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