firefighters are on hand looking for flair ups. there were no reports of injuries but the nightson elementary school was evacuated and a shelter in place was put of the. >> everything burning, black smoke everywhere. it was unbelievable. >> the sheriff's department while we were working these i said kepts did evacuate -- these incidents did evacuate the nightson school. the children were taken to another local school by school buses. we did have the road closed in the whole area. >> reporter: flames were from grass fire, a fire sparked near the oakley car company sparked several cars, trucks and a propane tank exploded. the fire also spread to a near

by beekeeper. the cause of the fire is under investigation but investigators are looking into whether sparks may have set off these fires. firefighters will remain on hand looking for hot spots pretty much all night long. east palo alto residents have questions tonight about tax money meant to combat crimes as a new round of violence erupts on their streets. janine de la vega is on hand as a city council meeting is about to start. >> reporter: the meeting is about to start in just a few minutes. the police chief is supposed to talk about the latest statistics that show over all crimes is down but homicides are up. the people inside this community room want to make sure their tax dollars are used to fight violence. on this thursday afternoon in east palo alto we observed a lot of young people hanging out

on the street. rachel dyre says more programs are needed. >> a lot of people who had their homes foreclosed don't have jobs. they don't have the money to put their kids like at the ymca for a summer program. >> reporter: measure c was a parcel tax that voters approved. this year city leaders have not doled out measure c money into the communities because they are not sure they've been spent properly in years past. they've hired a private consultant. >> this isn't about funding a program, it's about funding a strategy to reduce crime in the community. >> reporter: in the meantime the city has used $200,000 from its general fund. the other half of measure c money has been given to police. chief ron davis says it is funding three officers who would have been laid off.

>> the attempt was to expand the department. but in this economy maintaining it is an expansion. we're able to respond to these hikes. >> reporter: chief davis will be updating the community about the up tick in homicides. he says they are gang related and it seems to stem from gang members fighting with each other. janine de la vega, ktvu news. >> antioch police say they are looking for two men in connection with a drive by shooting that sent a woman to the hospital. the woman was on the street when a vehicle pulled up. gunfire rung out hitting the woman in the arm. officers are now looking for two men in a silver range rover with shiny rims. the contra costa county corner today identified a -- coroner today identified a man

shot to death as steven miller. he was shot yesterday afternoon on florida avenue near south fourth street. police say no witnesses have come forward. a 70-year-old antioch man has entered a plea bargain in a murder case involving his wife. lee pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact. his attorney says he's been released from jail. the prosecutors say lee drove his wife to the dublin hall of selma hill. her daughter, hill and lee were convicted of killing hill over rosa hill's 2-year-old daughter. a los gatos mother was found guilty this afternoon of misdemeanor charge of molesting a child. 48-year-old sar a cole is accused of having sex with a 16- year-old boy. a santa clara jury acquitted cole on two charges. the jury deadlocked on a third

charge. cole must now register as a sex offender. investors sold out stocks in search of safer investments. coop soupers are also -- consumers are also making changes. tom vacar is live now with a sign that could signal recovery. >> reporter: even as consumer spending has increased, brick and mortar shopping centers find themselves in record vacancy territory. steel drums here at the martinez farmers market make for a more jovial feeling. strip mall vacancies now at 11% are the highest in 20 years. emily langley says she works weekend in a near by mall. >> you still have people with

money that want to come and spend their money. then there's a few people that are just there to look. and i mean i guess i would say, if anything it's people are shopping less. >> i used to go at least once a week. but i try and avoid them now because i know there's a trap for me, if i go i'm going to see something i want and i'm going to spend money i don't need to be spending. >> i have to center that around payday, then i have to figure out which payday i'm going to the mall. >> reporter: more and more folks are going to the internet, dollar stores and big box discounters. >> i went to the mall this sunday, and we looked around but we didn't end up buying anything because just the prices were a little high for us. >> so you went to cosco? >> yes. >> reporter: what did she actually buy? >> i think i spent more money on food and less money on clothes and things that aren't necessities. >> reporter: as big as the market is today, what will

happen tomorrow will tell if this is a correction or something unknown and far darker. tom vacar, ktvu news. you can track the markets and latest economic news on ktvu.com. just click on our business tab. a troubled walnut creek based mortgage insurance company saw its profits drop 60% after it will your honored it may have to stop writing poll -- after it saw it may have to stop writing policies. and it warned one of its major subsidiaries don't have enough cash on hand. the alameda county court

of supervisors invited truckers to their meeting. the state air resources board recently decided not to delay that requirement. >> i want a new truck. but i don't want to get a new truck now. >> this next couple of years then have to replace it again at 2020. >> reporter: some truckers said they still hope the state will extend the deadline since many say they've already gone into debt to retrofit their vehicles. meanwhile work continues to make the port of oakland deeper to accommodate larger ships. yesterday we were the only crew invited on board the dredger to look at the work going on. engineers speculate they will finish the work by the end of the month. you can watch the work on ktvu.com. federal law make -rs say they want tighter controls of energy -- lawmakers say they want tighter controls of energy pipelines. the measures would tighten

control of the industry currently gives utility power over safety issues. lawmakers say they hope to have new rules in place by next year. an insurance company has re rejected the claim from the city of capitola over floods last night. the city spend $300 million recovering from the flood. but the city's insurer says the the damage was not caused by a drainpipe failure. san francisco court offices will be opening later and closing earlier this fall as they deal with severe budget cuts. starting october 1st, the offices of criminal and civil court clerks will open half an hour later at 8:30 a.m. and close half an hour earlier at 5:00 p.m. the court is also laying off 600 employees. we have new video tonight of that gray whale stranded in the river. the video was sent to us by a

ktvu viewer named tom lagley. the calf is headed back to sea but the mother is still in the river. the chp is warning people not to head to the river to watch the whale because all the of the cars are causing a safety hazard. the california breast- feeding coalition gave awards to companies that accommodate nursing mothers. advocates say breast-feeding is beneficial for both mother and baby. reducing the risk of disease and increasing the bonds between parent and child. the high price of health food, what the new study revealed today and the things you can do to help your waist and wallet. and what this man broke that landed him in handcuffs. a lot of drizzle this morning, tomorrow things are

going to warm up. i'll show you which cities will see the most increase.

two san francisco window washers are safe after being rescued while dangling from a 17 story building in the city. the scaffolding they were working on collapsed on a condominium building. both luckily were wearing safety gear. in berkeley, an auto theft suspect made a run for it and wound up on top of a store front awning. >> how did they get you down? >> i watch a lot of movie, you know what i mean. >> you're on the ledge? >> yeah, i thought i was going

to die today. >> reporter: it all happened at university avenue near san pablo shortly before 10:00 this morning. police say they were serving a warrant on the man when he fled. he jumped out the window and on to the awning below. >> it's a wonder that the ledge held because. that was a pretty strong ledge that's all i can say. >> reporter: they found stolen property inside the man's home. parents of an injured football player man say he has come out of a coma. his sister posted online that mcgovern came out of his coma a week ago. recognizes his family and is now in a rehab facility. it appears an opposing player hit mcgovern on purpose. today's iran's ambassador to iraq said he expected two

berkeley graduates to be released soon. last weekend after two years in custody, iranian authorities tried the two on espionage charges. the two say they accidentally strayed into iran while hiking in iraq. the judge promised a decision this week. the cargile corporation in arkansas announced a major recall of ground turkey yesterday. one man has died in sacramento county. also state health officials say there are steps you can take to avoid getting sick from tainted turkey. they say salmonella is found in a certain percentage of all poultry so it's really important to cook poultry to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees. >> i think people need to treat all raw meats essentially as if they are contaminated.

>> health officials also strongly recommend constantly washing preparation tools and surfaces with hot soapy water and never cutting poultry on a wooden surface because it's too poreous. a new report shows that if you follow health guidelines you will be spending more money. >> fruits and vegetables is what i have to eat more. >> reporter: but her family is having to shell out more cash with prices going up. >> avocados almost doubled i think. the fresh product is so much more expensive. but people are still buying because it's good for you. >> reporter: the cost of bell peppers and mushroomed jumped

20%. an a study found that a healthy option will cost consumers $250 more a year. the nonprofit collective roots has helped 50 families plant backyard gardens. >> the idea is people can plant their own food in their backyards. that's one way to reduce the cost of groceries. >> there are things that are available at very low costs. >> reporter: for those who prefer their grow their own food. avoid eating out, buy canned fruits and veggies that can be cheaper. >> people choose what they like and that to me is challenge, how do we get people to like things that are not full of salt, sugar, and fat? >> reporter: last year 14% of adults in santa clara county surveyed had eaten at least

five servings of fruits and vegetables the day before. strong on shore winds this receiving will most certainly push the low clouds into your neighborhoods for friday already. there are the clouds already. i'll go take a look at the golden gate bridge. gusts of 20 miles per hour already. gusts to 18, and up toward the richmond bridge we have gusts to nine. the winds are coming out of the west. the clouds, low clouds are coming your way just like today but the difference, these are the highs from today it's going to burn more rapidly tomorrow. as it does temperatures are going to warm significantly. i think warm up a good five to 10 degrees. drizzle along the coast, i mentioned this the last forecast but half-moon bay actually recorded .12 of an inch of precipitation from drizzle. it was just that intense.

.2 for the avenues out in stinson beach. as we look to san francisco we're looking for a beautiful day tomorrow once the fog burns off. i think the inland spot mid- and upper 80s, low 90s. the forecast model for temperature you see your 90s starting to show in those inland bay valleys. that's an encouraging sign for your friday. a little bit more warmth. this low pressure center has moved a little bit south today. tomorrow morning look for some drizzle. in the afternoon we're going to get a bit of a warm up. less fog, more sunshine and temperatures back into the 80s in many bay area locations. these are specific forecast for areas where you live. i wish i could get all of your cities on but they have a lot of cities in the nine bay area counties. these are the big one, and hopefully you are close to and you can relate to.

82 in pleasanton, these numbers good up six to 5 degrees. 80 in gilroy, along the coast cool and mild as you would expect. 74 in redwood city and 74 in are palo alto. this summer has just been staying this course of mild weather. good air quality, fire danger unusually low. it's always high until we get our first real rain. but unusually low for this time of year. your five day forecast with your weekend in view shows temperatures just on the mild side. there are no big changes. and i'm going to be back at 7:00 on kicu. i will take a look to see if the models have changed at all. >> are you getting bored? >> no, i'm never bored. >> keep your graphics the same. >> they look very similar. and a look at how to improve energy efficiency at home and work. consumers are confused by all the loan and rebate programs

available. up front financing would help encourage getting new equipment. facebook today denied a claim that its face recognition software may violate european privacy laws. the software scans photos up loaded by users, matches the faces from other photos and tags people in the photos with their names. a new sign of water on mars. why nasa scientists here in the bay area believe there may be water flowing on the red planet.

nasa researchers here in the bay area made a big discovery. they found what looks like water flowing in the red planet. these are close up images of the seasons passing on mars. scientists from the aims research center say the dark stains may be liquid. they say it's not ordinary water it's more like a thick briney liquid that still may be

able to support life. let's start with the raiders up in napa and it's not the kind of news they really want to hear. one of their stars offensive weapons mcfadden has suffered a broken orbital bone near his eye and he'll be out two to three weeks. the 49ers having an early evening practice today and they have announced that they have officially signed receiver edwards here. here in a jets uniform where he played last year. a one year deal worth $2.5 million. he's a michigan guy like his new coach jim harbaugh. the 49ers e-mailed every team saying that travis mays was available to be acquired. very unusual news by the 49ers. and tiger woods would be on positive news was at his first activity in a while with his

new caddy bryan bell. more relaxed was tiger shooting a 2-under 68. his buddy steve williams his former caddy now working for adam scott and scott makes the birdie here. he's the leader after one. and he shot an 8-under 62 with his new caddy stevie williams. that had to be an interesting turn of events for tiger woods. and the defending national east champs the phils tonight. the a's are off tonight. >> i bet today felt good for stevie williams. coming up on bay area news at 7:00 on tv 36. while stocks plummeted the

prices were increasing in unexpected places. plus the new price you will pay for gasoline. and we have posted a picture of the oakley fires on ktvu news. you can also get the latest pictures and video. p.pñççe".