in san leandro the weather related flooding that is probably going to effect your morning commute. that is likely to make the wait even longer for people stranded by a mud slide in the santa cruz mountains. and a major breakthrough in the contentious budget battle between san jose and its unions. it's all ahead here on the ktvu morning news. good morning. thank you for waking up with us on this thursday march 24th.

i'm pam cook. we begin with another big storm moving into the bay area today. steve paulson tells us what we can expect. good morning, steve. all right, pam, thank you. that is correct. still a couple hours away from the main impact on this system. we still have scattered showers around. you can see this is beginning to move in. one system gets bumped out. here comes the next one. that's going to fly in here courtesy of a very strong supportive jet stream. just now into the north bay that's very light rain. bulk of the system is still offshore. we're kind of embracing this system because it's going to give us some moderate to heavy rain. we'll have all the warnings and watches, just scattered showers right now though. here's sal. steve, right now westbound 24 traffic looks good. roads are still wet from the last storm. as you heard steve say, this morning's commute later on is not going to be a good drive to work. as we look at interstate 880 traffic is moving along okay. still windy out there. and we have a problem in the east bay which may definitely or probably will effect your morning commute. ktvu's kraig debro is there and

he explains why this could be a problem. kraig. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, sal. this is 880 southbound. now behind me you no longer see the flooding that many suspected would interfere with the morning commute, but there's still a problem out here. after clearing two drains, there's a third drain that is still clogged up. because of predicted rain later this morning, that means they don't get that drain unclogged, two lanes are still going to be closed down as they are right now. john with chp thanks for joining us this morning. i understand that chp cars were involved in trying to block these lanes. >> yeah. we got a call about 1:45 when we responded out here number one and two lane were blocked starting to get flooded. there's three drains involved. we were able to clear two to alleviate some flooding but the major is still clogged which kept one and two flooded after running some traffic breaks we took the number one and two lane with the patrol vehicles and contacted cal trans to

respond. they are now in the process of closing down the one and two lane with cone, sign trucks until they can fix the major drain. it's got unknown debris in it, asphalt, rock, that's causing the back up. probably going to be a closure until they figure it out. >> reporter: we don't know if it will interfere with the commute. this is the countercommute direction. is it going to effect the northbound commute? >> it probably will especially with cal trans here and all the lights and activity taking place. probably going to have some slow downs. hopefully not major. we're trying to get this cleared. that's why we called cal trans out here because of the second storm coming in with cones right now. we're trying to get that cleared before this comes in at least get some of that alleviated to get that commute in the morning and not effect our afternoon commute. >> reporter: officer with the chp just heard him say that they're trying to clear that drain. he said at least another couple of hours. cal trans is in the process of coming out here to clear that

third drain and smooth the commute a little bit. reporting live in san leandro, kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. people living in marin county are also bracing for another wet and windy day. we checked on what is traditionally the wettest town in marin county, kentfield. nearly 50 inches of rain has fallen there so far this season. and there will be plenty of wet weather in the days ahead. it's enough to give almost anyone a case of rain fatigue. >> i'm from seattle, washington, so you'd think i would be used to it but no. i've become californiaized. i'm ready to take off and go for blue skies and warm weather. >> the u.s. coast guard is also reminding people to double check their boats due to the high winds. earlier this week more than a dozen boats were blown right across richardson bay. the heavy rain is also adding to the problems in scots valley and the santa cruz mountains. the bad weather has delayed efforts to inspect a rock slide that has cut off more than 30 homes from the main road.

geologists say the fallen hillside needs to dry out until at least sunday before they can even start planning to remove the huge rocks from the road. >> we are running a little low on propane and depending on how long it takes to clear the slide that may be an issue. >> now there is some progress despite the heavy rain. public works crews hope to begin work on an emergency access road some time today. now we're going to have a live report from the santa cruz mountains in our next half hour. a breakthrough in san jose's budget battle. last night three city labor unions announced that they have tentively agreed to mayor chuck reed's request for a 10% cut in pay and benefits. a few weeks ago the san jose firefighters union accepted a 10% cut. union leaders hope the move helps the city bridge their $105 million budget deficit. >> we feel that the sacrifice will help preserve jobs and maintain important city

services. >> union members still have to vote on the agreement. now seven city unions including san jose police are still negotiating. however someone inside the city manager's office tells us even if all of the unions agree, there will still be layoffs. well, state regulators will meet today to consider a fine of up to $1 million a day against pg&e. it's all because pg&e failed to provide important safety documents that the agency requested following the san bruno pipeline explosion. the punishment would not be decided until pg&e has a chance to defend itself at a hearing on monday. if approved, pg&e would have to pay the fine until it comes up with the missing documents. well, today the state public utilities commission will hear from a local government leaders and consumer groups who oppose smart meters. the commission has already told pg&e that it has to present a proposal to allow customers to opt out of smart meter installation. those opposed to the smart

meters say that's a good first step, but they'd rather see a moratorium with customers given the chance to opt in. all right. 4:36 is the time right now. sal, i think you're going to be a busy man today because the rain is coming in steve says later this morning. yeah. and we already have some problems, pam, unfortunately. i want to put up the maps if i can. northbound 101 connector ramp to southbound 880. so that would be right here where i've drawn that circle northbound 101 trying to get onto southbound 880 there's a big rig on that ramp that is stuck in the mud. it just came in. and these are the kind of things we're going to get. northbound 101 to southbound 880. now that's not a big route but it's unusual to see all the slow traffic already out there. this is northbound 101 to southbound 880. i just refreshed so i guess the traffic isn't as bad as we thought. but just remember that there's a lot of standing water. as you heard kraig say at least one spot in the bay area the drains are not working properly and the storm is headed in here

according to steve. let's go to some live pictures t. is westbound bay bridge. that traffic is light so far. and the morning commute on northbound 280 looks good getting up to the valley. it's 4:37. let's go to steve. all right, sal. here we go. our system is getting closer. the first one yesterday gave us showers morning rain and then showers. next one is rolling in here courtesy of a very strong and supportive jet stream. we still have a little ways to go and it's still developing but there's all sorts of warnings and watches out. storm tracker 2 shows it's just beginning to lead in toward marin county. hit and miss showers are moving off to the east as this system comes in and bumps them out of here. but the rain shield right there beginning to move in. flood advisories out within 20 minutes here. 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and we could have a lot of rises on the creeks. the ground is already saturated and also up in the santa cruz mountains because of mud slides. wind advisory wind will start to kick up here as well about the same time frame could have

gusts over 50 along the coast, maybe higher elevations. again, the rainfall between now and into say saturday night and sunday morning for the santa cruz mountains and also up towards parts of lake county and even in the russian river could exceed 2 to 4 inches. easily 2 but possibility of 4. nothing is changed there. 40s for almost everybody here. almost everybody. in fact it is everybody on this panel. i did see a 50 but it's not posted. 49 hayward the warmest. everyone else is close. temperatures will really not travel very far. they'll stay mid-50s for almost everybody. here comes our system diving in right there. there's a lot of cold air support behind that. snow levels will plunge maybe even down to 1500 feet to the north around 2500 feet here. so rain and wind on the way and we'll see temperatures just stay in the 50s. again, not very warm today. rain gives way to possible thunderstorms later on. and much colder temps as we head into friday. one more system saturday. we start to clear it out sunday.

monday looks mostly sunny, pam. okay. look forward to that. more than a dozen flights have been canceled and delayed at miami international airport this morning after a massive jet fuel fire. flames were seen leaping into the sky last night as the fire raged out of control. it started in an area of the airport where fuel is stored. 120 firefighters needed three hours to contain the flames. no one was injured. well, the campaign to defeat barack obama comes to the bay area. the reason the event is called the three joes. and a critical day in court in the chauncey bailey murder trial. a key witness that's supposed to take the stand today. good morning. northbound 101 san francisco dry so far. but it may not stay that way for long.

good morning. our system is barreling in here. it's also intensifying. it will bring us moderate to heavy rain. in fact, it's just beginning to move into the north bay. very cold air coming in behind that. so far we're getting scattered showers in advance of it but look at the rain shields starting to increase especially into the north bay. we're learning this morning a funnel cloud that ripped through a northern california commute was in fact a tornado. hit the rural town of williams off highway 5 east of clear lake yesterday afternoon. the national weather service says winds got up to 85 miles per hour causing some

significant damage. shingles were blown off at least three rooftops and one car's windshield was shattered possibly by one of the flying roof tiles. fortunately, no one was injured. tonight controversial sheriff from arizona will appear at a tea party event here in the bay area along with two other well-known conservative joes. it's called the three joes. the sheriff, joe the plumber and former alaska senator i can't believe county joe miller. the fund raising event is billed as a launch party for the campaign to defeat barack obama. it's being held at a private home in san mateo county. the u.s. military says coalition air attacks in libya have essentially destroyed the country's air force. rebel forces are trying to take advantage of the opening given them by the air strikes to push westward towards tripoli. government forces still loyal to gadafi are continuing to

attack using troops on the ground. [ indiscernible ] in san francisco yesterday anti-war demonstrators showed their opposition to u.s. involvement in libya. >> there's a debate in congress now over how many billions of dollars to cut out of social programs, but they always have money for the next war. >> organizers of the protests say they're opposed to "a third u.s. war in a muslim country." well, this morning we are learning that three workers have been injured at that nuclear power plant in japan. the workers suffered radiation burns when they stepped in to contaminated water while installing electrical cable in one of the reactor units. more than two dozen people have been injured at the plant since it was damaged in the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. well, the world's biggest automaker warns it may have to curb production in north america because of a shortage of parts. toyota says most of the parts

used in its u.s. and canadian factories are made in north america, but some come from japan where production was shut down after that big earthquake. toyota says it does not know yet which factories will be closed or for how long. well, in just a few hours testimony resumes in barry bonds' perjury trial in san francisco. this morning the defense will continue its cross-examination of bonds' former business partner. yesterday he testified that he secretly taped bonds' trainer, greg anderson, in the giants locker room in 2003. anderson talks about cysts forming if steroids are injected in the same part of the body. now listen carefully. this tape is hard to hear. [ indiscernible ] >> his testimony is expected to wrap up this morning. then the giants' long time

equipment manager, mike murphy, is set to take the stand. now you can get updates on the trial any time of day or night at ktvu.com. just click on the bonds trial tab. well, today is a critical day in the trial of the two men accused of killing oakland journalist chauncey bailey. the admitted gunman will take the witness stand. he's expected to testify against ewe receive and macaque who are accused of plotting to kill bailey. yesterday a police officer told the court that he found two weapons during a 2007 raid on your black muslim bakery. he says one of those weapons was used to kill chauncey bailey. a san jose youth football coach is behind bars this morning accused of molesting one of his players. the 28-year-old is the former coach of oak grove youth football league. he was arrested on wednesday. police say they were called to investigate him after the boy talked to a pastor about the

incidents during a church ski trip. >> apparently he took advantage of that position to entrust or escape the trust of the victim and privilege where he had inappropriate contact with him. >> police say he molested the boy from may to june of last year. he was booked on seven felony counts of sexual acts with a 15- year-old. there's a call for new safety measures at a dangerous intersection in san francisco's noe valley. concern about 24th and church streets. pedestrians say drivers don't always see them because of a muni platform. the area also there are complaints that cars just roll through stop signs. >> the car that was actually stopped at the intersection without even looking started to go right almost into me. fortunately, i wasn't struck. >> now people who live in the area sent out a letter asking the city to study the intersection and take action.

the supervisor who represents the neighborhood tells us here at ktvu that he will ask the metropolitan transportation agency to also look into the concerns. san mateo county officials now know what their budget for the next fiscal year could look like. the county manager released a budget proposal that eliminates 270 jobs and asks each of the 20 departments to make a minimum of 10% cuts to its budget. but even if supervisors approve all of those changes, the county still could face a $32 million budget shortfall. supervisors will hold public hearings on the plan next week. and the san mateo county transit district will hold a special meeting on its financial problems this afternoon. the district which operates san trans has been struggling with budget issues for years. that led to decrease in cal train funding this year. today the board will try to figure out new steps to try to rebalance its budget.

following in the footsteps of twitter. the major tech company that's now threatening to leave san francisco if it doesn't get its way. and why a group that's been known for its hateful protesting is now targeting the late elizabeth taylor.

well, as people around the world mourn the death of hollywood legend elizabeth taylor, one controversial church is targeting her funeral. the westboro baptist church is promising to protest the ceremony most likely because of taylor's humanitarian work against aids. the group has been known to protest funerals of gay military service members. recently the supreme court upheld the church's first amendment right to protest. well, there is disappointment among gay rights supporters this morning over a critical court ruling. a federal appeals court

rejected an appeal to let same sex marriages resume in california while the court reviews the constitutionality of proposition 8 which bans same sex marriage. the court did not give a reason for the stay. the bad weather is washing away plans for an outdoor concert starring pop star britney spears. it was announced this weekend's free concert will be moved to bill graham civic auditorium. fans will still get a chance to see her perform, business owners in the castro are disappointed in the change of venue. >> we're in the middle of a recession and we're going to showcase our neighborhood. >> when the threat of rain for this weekend became serious concern, then organizers considered moving the concert inside the castro theater, but with a crowd that could reach more than 40,000 people, the only choice was to move it outside of the neighborhood. business owners should still prepare for crowds though. there are rumors that britney will make an appearance in the castro some time tomorrow.

the internet gaming company zynga is threatening to leave san francisco. like twitter it wants a deal from the city. reportedly asking for an exemption to the city's tax on employee stock options. the maker of the popular farmville and mafia war games is expected to go public in the next few years. and a tax on stock options could be enormous. they employ 1200 people and valued at $6 billion. a deal to give twitter a break on payroll taxes passed supervisor's committee yesterday. coming up on 5:00. already some problems this morning even though the rain's not really heavy quite yet, sal. that's right. we have some drains that are blocked and causing some issues on 880 in the san leandro area. let's go live. you can see traffic is going to be light so far. this is one of the things where it's going to be a problem a little bit later on. i want to let you know that southbound 880 as you drive past the marina boulevard exit

you are going to see traffic still moving well. ktvu's kraig debro is there and he'll have an update. right now traffic on 880 in san leandro is not all that bad. i see a cal trans unit there. maybe they'll be clearing that out soon, hopefully. let's move along and take a look at the commute. this is a look at westbound bay bridge. the traffic is moving along okay. and this morning's commute on northbound 101 to southbound 880 there's a stuck big rig in the mud. they're trying to get that out of there. we'll let you know when that happens. now to steve. thank you, sal. here we go again. ground is saturated but this system coming in is looking better and better with time. it has really good cold air support, upper level jet stream support all being funneled right at us and it continues to enhance. the leading edge is just moving into the north. but we still have a ways to go. it's going to be most of the morning hours. right there. scattered rain out ahead of it. you can see just light rain now beginning to move into the north bay. for many of us if you leave

right now you might escape any consistent rain or steady rain. there are areas ahead of it which are producing occasionally some showers. roads are wet though. flood advisory's out starts at 5:00 a.m. and goes to 1:00 p.m. sharp rises on the creeks as you might imagine. also on a lot of the roadways some ponding of water. and a lot of the creeks are roaring. strong winds and wind advisory also 5:00 a.m. to 2:00. gusts to 50. i would think that is along the coast and higher elevations but it will be a day where the wind kicks up santa cruz mountains because of the recent mud slides two to three inches or four possible today. more likely around two to three. but over the next couple days into saturday you could see two to four. flash flooding is possible. 40s on a lot of these temperatures. in fact all of them. 48 seems popular. santa rosa, napa, oakland, hayward, san jose. temperatures today about a five or six degree spread between the lows and highs. you can see our system the good news is it's moving fast, but the bad news is it's going to

give us brief heavy rain and possibility of severe weather behind that as really cold air comes in. snow levels will plunge. if you get any breaks in the clouds that could give us some thundershower activity. rain and wind for the morning and some will be heavy. then we'll turn showery in nature but turning colder and a possibility of severe weather especially out towards the valley. rain heavy. windy. temperatures in the 50s. mid-50s for many. colder with showers on friday. one more system that will take more aim at the north bay than south but still bring us rain on saturday. clearing on sunday. monday looks mostly sunny, pamela. all right. i will look forward to that, steven. as we have been talking about it is another soggy morning commute. we're going to talk more about which parts of the bay area need to brace for high winds and possible flash floods today. and could it be the smoking gun in the government's case against barry bonds? the key testimony expected today.

good morning. i'm jade hernandez. the biggest weather concerns for residents enduring yet another storm this week. we'll have a live report for you. a sig alert already this morning on a major bay area freeway. the flooding that's blocking a lane on 880 southbound. if you're sick of the rain you're not going to like today an