more than 4.5 million california afns are going somewhere during the 4th of july weekend so how are they getting there. >> today volunteers provided services for the homeless while bringing together city leaders to answer how to fix the problem. >> complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is ktvu channel 2 news at noon. >> good afternoon, topping our

news a lot of people are leaving town for the 4th of july weekend. kraig debro to explain weather there are any changes. >> slight changes. california anies are traveling but not as many as last year but if you just look at the method of travel the numbers are going up. the morning rush hour pat the airport, a friday before the long weekend is the kind of traffic jam most people don't mind. aaa says there will be a 1.7% increase in air travel among californians this weekend. >> it is a trend that people will travel, maybe closer to home. people are still going to travel and especially for 4th of july. >> she says the 4th is second only to thanksgiving. people we spoke with seconded that. travelers say the economy makes them cut back, just not when it

comes to the 4th of july travel. >> 4th of july usually it is a whole more -- family comes together as a household, some family's member's house and we just have a get together. >> a must do weekend. >> yes. >> for one couple it is about more than the birth of a nation. >> going to see my girlfriend's family for the first time and going to michigan and should be a new experience, should be fun. >> despite the expected decrease, 3.6 scale foreignans will drive at least 50 miles or more this weekend somewhat surprising more people are not driving given the fact there has been a six cent a gallon decrease in the price of gas since last week. aaa estimates people will take other modes of transportation and they say those numbers are down overall over last year as well so it appears only air travel is up, live in berkeley, kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news.

>> some train travelers will answer a familiar call this holiday weekend. it was all aboard on amtrack in oakland as passengers lined up to board the train. they have seen a boost in travelers primarily due to the jump in gas prices. go to our website to find information to help with your travel plans, go to the front page and scroll down to the kt ktvu.com right now section. automakers reporting good news, general motors reported an 11% increase in june sales compared to a year ago, ford sales up 14% and chrysler said sales jumped 40%, their best june since 2007, before the company declared bankruptcy. in japan carmakers are still

struggling with the after effects of the earthquake and tsunami, june sales down 21% for toyota and 24% for honda. new at noon hundreds of volunteers counted the homeless of santa clara county for three days, late this morning officials said they want a registry for those staying on the street on a regular basis and services to keep them safe. jade hernandez is live with what they are doing today. >> reporter: tori, you are right, a non-profit group put hundreds of people in santa clara county to count for homeless. what they found, 700 people living on the streets. today volunteers provided services for the homeless while bringing together city leaders to answer how to fix the problem. the lines formed early for services in front of city hall. >> there are a lot of single folks out there, those numbers have gone up and the families as well. >> we do services at one of the family shelters and our numbers have gone up 20% since last year. >> reporter: what you see here

is partly due to what hundreds of volunteers saw on monday. >> what we did was an in-depth survey looking at health and housic vulnerability and folks at risk of dying in the streets. >> reporter: the non-profit group says what is needed is permanent housing. sentimentses echoed by this man who is out of a job and left without a place to stay next month. >> hopefully i qualify, i need to find housing so i am not homeless anymore. >> the housing is a serious problem, people are living under bridges and sleeping in abandoned cars and buildings, they are catching on fire because they are trying to cook, it is horrible. >> when i went out on monday morning, i went to my neighborhood, the neighborhood strip malls that were there and we found homeless there. >> city leaders including mayor chuck reid say they will now turn to the state for help. >> we are already spending more money on the homeless than it

will cost to get them in housing and provide services, the difficulty is getting that money out of the system and being able to use it effectively, so we are focusing our efforts on that. >> reporter: the mayor attended a press conference today at city hall, he agreed san jose needs state hope to obtain tax credits for affordable housing, the first step in get is those on the streets off. live in san jose, jade hernandez ktvu channel 2 news. >> big cutbacks took effect today at the san jose fire department. the department will put as many two fewer engines on the street on any particular day and it will cut staffing from five firefighters per truck to four. firefighters say it will hurt response time. >> as response times increase fire intensity grows, so upon arrival our firefighters are faced with a greater workload, higher risk and greater demand. >> while firefighters will be

doing more work, they will be paid 10% less. the oakland city council narrowly approved a budget last night that will allow the rehiring of police officers. mayor jean kwan cast the tie- breaking vote for a budget that provides funding for 22 officers laid off a year ago and also keep libraries and fire stations open but it does call for city worker furlough days, the budget still depends on concessions from five unions. it may need to be revised, depending on the outcome of those deals. a 29-year-old clear lake man is behind bars in sonoma county this noontime suspected of fatally shooting a four-year- old boy at a backyard barbecue two weeks ago and is accused of wounding five others. deputies arrested kevin stone around 1:20 this morning. he was driving a stolen ford explorer at the time. two other men were already in custody in the case, charged with murder, attempted murder

and assault with a deadly weapon. police are investigating a home invasion robbery that also reveald a marijuana growing operation. it happened at 2:00 this morning on 40th avenue. police say four suspects stormed through the back door and held a man and a woman at gunpoint. the robbers took a tv, an ipad, two cell phones and cash, along with 40 marijuana plants. the couple says they had a prescription to grow 99 plants, but police say their medical marijuana card had expired. just hours ago a surprising turn of events in the sexual assault case against former international monte tore fund leader dominique strauss-kahn. he was released from house arrest during a hearing in new york city this morning. that is after prosecutors said they are reassessing the case due to an investigation that

uncovered inconsistencies in her story and lied about a gang rape in her native country which never took place. >> today's proceedings did not dismiss the indictment or any of the charges against the defendant, our prosecutors from the manhattan d.a.'s office will continue their investigation into these alleged crimes and will do so until we have uncovered all relevant facts. >> he is free to travel in the u.s. but his passport was not returned so he cannot travel abroad. defense attorneys will likely argue encounter was consensual. a day after stepping down as cia director leon panetta was sworn in today as secretary of defense. these are pictures of him arriving for the ceremony. he bound up the steps and into his third floor office where he took the oath of office. he said he will maintain a strong military and vowed to

advocate for all troops. no video cameras were allowed, just a still camera. among the tasks he inherits the pentagon budget negotiations the libyan conflict and troop withdrawals from afghanistan and iraq. ahead what homeowners are required to have starting today, but many of you may not know about it. and we will check the situation in a bay area neighborhood dealing with disruptions right now after a water main break. as it heats up parts of the area may have triple digit temperatures this weekend. >> an early morning strike averted. coming up we will show you the confusion and tell you why the threat is still out there.

a water main break will be a problem for most of the day today in el sobriente. a 12 inch pipe broke there about 9:30 this morning. these are pictures of the problem. repairs are underway but a representative for east bay mud could not say when they would be done or how many customers are affected, only that it handed in an area where most of the customers are businesses. a threatened strike against

the larkspur and sausalito ferries was called off but not before it caused confusion for passengers and workers alike, claudine wong headed out to cover the strike and was among those surprised when workers showed up as usual. >> at this moment we don't know what is going to happen. all right. >> so if you get on a bus you may not be able to get back here, i guess. >> somehow we will find a way. >> that passenger left by bus at 4:50. he had no way of knowing the strike that had been announced was cancelled. union workers were use as confused. >> you don't see any signs up so i guess we are supposed to work. >> supposed to work. you didn't know anything about a strike. >> no, i had not heard anything about a strike. >> they opened. it wasn't until later they made it official. >> they are not striking today

and we will be running service. >> both sides blamed the other for confusion but once the word got out passengers showed up. >> you look like you are being patient. >> yes, i am. >> very happy to throw plan b. >> in the car on the way to the city. >> i started driving in then i came around and came back. >> all of this over ticket agents that for one more week will man these booths, after that automation eliminates those jobs, they say they are not providing enough. a battle ongoing for almost two years. >> i negotiated probably 10 contracts with this company and never seen anything like this. >> these ticket booths are going to close permanently next friday and the union says it wants an agreement before then. if they don't get one a strike will remain a real possibility and they are warning commuters to stay on their toes. in larkspur, claudine wong, ktvu channel 2 news. >> today is the 18th anniversary of the deadliest crime in san francisco history,

it happened at the office tower at 101 california street. an enraged gunman walked into the high rise with semi automatic weapons and started shooting. he killed eight and wounded six others before killing himself. this week the district attorney marked the anniversary by pushing for a new assault weapons ban. it will be similar to the federal law passed in 1994 that expired seven years ago. pg&e is facing new safety questions, an internal investigation found utility contractors and workers may have falsified inspection reports on underground electrical vaults. the san jose mercury news reports as many as 14 inspectors failed to check dozens of underground facilities across the bay area. pg&e is already underfire for its major role in the san bruno pipeline disaster. as of today it is the law. all california homeowners must have a carbon monoxide detector

installed. a store here is among the stores that have seen an increase in sales. it is sold out in one model. violenters could face fines of up to $200. owners of rentals and apartment buildings still have until 2013 to comply with the new law. fireworks are going on sale today in five bay area cities. one of them is gilroy, where the fireworks stands went up a few days ago, cloverdale, ronner park, petalooma and union city are also on the list. there are only a handful of bay area cities where fireworks are illegal and fireworks not purchased from licensed vendors are considered illegal. fireworks are illegal in oakland and violators could be fined up to $1000. the oakland police department has an anonymous tip line to report illegal fireworks. 510-777-8814. you see it on the screen.

barrels will be set up at fire stations where you can drop off fireworks. for more information go to our website and you will find locations to watch fireworks shows, all under the right now section at ktvu.com. it is the 4th of july weekend but it looks like winter in the sierra, a blanket of white is still covering the lake tahoe area. tahoe has seen nearly double the average snow fall this year, it is warming up fasten the mountains and a lot of the snow is turning into water run off going into the rivers. some tahoe ski resorts will actually be open for business this holiday weekend. one of the them is alpine meadows, they say it is the first time they have run the lifts in july since 1995. squaw valley, kirkwood and sugar bowl will also be open. >> good afternoon to you, giving a live look at the bay and the golden gait this

morning. plenty of blue sky overhead. warmer than 24 hours ago. pull out those fans. we are going to heat it up. take a look at what is going on. calm out there, winds light throughout the weekend. generally a northwesterly breeze. you can see fairfield and santa rosa, a light northerly breeze, southwesterly sel around oakland and northwesterly in san jose. again it is light. even at times watching it come from the northeast, which means it is pushing that marine layer off that coastline. 68 san francisco right now, 73 oakland. widespread 60s and 70s around the bay. inland 70s and 80s already at this time. 82 in san jose, outside your door in livermore 85, 84 concord. north bay 77 napa, 81 santa rosa. again with plenty of sunshine. that will be the call for the weekend. take a look at the satellite and radar here. we have plenty of clear sky. that light light light gray you can see, that is the marine

layer way off the coast. if i pull it off just a little bit the storm track way to the north. a ridge of high pressure in praise will drive our temperatures perhaps even to the century mark in some areas by sunday. your fog forecast, mostly sunny today, the marine layer creeps creep in the overnight hours then sunny again for saturday. this is the trend at least for july. it is a warm one, for today the 80s and even approaching 90s inland. saturday warmer, 90s, approaching mid-90s, and then by sunday mid-upper 90s and some of our hot efforts expected to hit 100, 102 or so. the afternoon for today, 88 santa rosa, 90 expected in fairfield, 89 walnut creek, 82 castro valley, 84 santa clara, 83 sunnyvale, along the

peninsula there. pull out the shorts, the sun block, make sure you stay hydrated this weekend. upper 60s for today, warming to the 70s by sunday. 4th of july we dip. we remain above average, upper 60s along the coast. inland numbers quite hot again even maybe hitting 100 degrees or so for some of the hot spots by sunday. >> yeah, that will be pretty warm. all right, thank you rosemary. >> you are welcome. >> the first sign of west nile virus this summer has turned up in walnut creek. insect control officials say a dead crow found near treat boulevard and bancroft road has tested positive for the disease. the disease is spread by mosquitoes and officials are advising residents to dump standing water where mosquitoes. breed. last year there were 109 cases and six people died. the san francisco public utilities commission and people in a menlo park neighborhood are discussing options that

would prevent a century old oak tree from being cut down. ktvu was there in may as neighbors protested to save the california valley oak, nicknamed granny. the tree is in the path of a pipeline the utility is installing as part of a multi- billion dollar siesmic upgrade to the water delivery system. the utility is leaning toward a plan to tunnel the pipeline under the roots. the two sides will meet again in two weeks. this time next friday the crew of the space shuttle is scheduled to be in the final hours of the last shuttle mission. the crew for atlantis is smaller than usual. it is made up of just four veteran space -- 4 space veterans. christopher ferguson says that means they will carry a much heavier workload and won't have time to reflect in their place in history as the final shuttle crew until they return home. ahead the great escape by a ape. where a search is now underway.

also an update on a royal north american tour, how william and kate made a special day for a dozen people even more spectacular.

stocks rallying today for a 5th day and on track to record their best week in nearly a year after a surprising jump in manufacturing data easing concerns about a tepid economic recover, the dow is up 153, the

nasdaq up 39, the s&p is up 17. the san francisco based social game maker singa filed papers for an initial public offering, they hope to raise up to a billion dollars, however that will depend on how many shares of stock and where its bankers price those shares. britain's royal newly weds are spending another busy day in canada. they presented 25 canadian flags to 25 new citizens. williams' grandmother, queen elizabeth is officially their head of state. the duke and dutch which is of cambridge has a busy schedule and scheduled to fly to los angeles next thursday. they are hot on the heels of a fugitive they have been pursuing since yesterday afternoon, a baboon. there it is on the screen.

he might have escaped from the amusement park. they house 150 but count officials do not count them regularly to see if any are missing. tonight at 5:00 stocks have been creeping up and why the market is so robust. fireworks up for sale, craigslist is also playing a role, what you need to know before you go that route. that and more coming up on our next newscast at 5:00. have a great day. send comments to comments@captioncolorado.com captions by terry james, caption colorado, llc.