it's seismically unsafe. the station floor can no longer support a fire engine. that means outside engine companies must come here to board the station's fire boats. tethered to this crumbling pier. >> they say that has about 18 months of life. so it should collapse just before the america's cup comes to san francisco. >> reporter: firefighters union president thomas o'connor says the department is dragging its feet in repairing and reopening the station. >> our concern is they're trying to keep the fire house closed to save money. in our business, we're not about cutting corners and saving pennies. >> due to budget constraints we just didn't have the money to fund the fixes. >> reporter: fire department officials say there is now $20 million available to fix or replace station 35. >> we've probably spent over 3 and a half million dollars just making sure it doesn't fall into the bay without even touching the physical house on top. >> reporter: but the department is still evaluating four different plans that may require approval from 22 different agencies.

deputy fire chief monica fields says that means this station will be completely ready -- won't be completely ready for the america's cup competition in 2013. >> probably will not make it. we probably won't have the complete fix. but again, we are very confident that we're going to continue to meet our response times and have adequate resources on the water. >> reporter: we're told repairing the station house along with making it compliant with the americans with disabilities act could cost about $15 million. and that doesn't cover the cost of repairing the pier out back, which was not designed to hold the two fire boats that are currently tethered to it. reporting live in san francisco. david stevenson, ktvu. at this hour, the solano county sheriff's department is trying to locate a missing 17- year-old girl. investigators say christina almanza was last seen driving a navy blue olds mobile with the license plate 4ebs066. they say she might be held against her will by a group of men who could also be keeping

other young girls with them against their will. the parents of a 23 month old boy shot in the head in west oakland knew it was a possibility, and now it appears it has become a reality. christian captain is live outside children's hospital in oakland with the news the toddler's parents are now trying to come to terms with. christian. >> reporter: yeah. we are all here on stand by at children's hospital, oakland. look, you can see there is a group of media here. we've heard the family of hiram lawrence is considering coming out to make a statement. hiram's father came out an hour and a half ago and told us quote we just wanted to make sure. it's not exactly clear what he meant by that and he would not elaborate. we know the family was looking for a medical opinion on the boy's prognosis. this evening, we have seen family members gathering next to the front door of the hospital. earlier this afternoon, a family member told us they are considering terminating life support for one-year-old hiram lawrence. the toddler has been in critical condition with a bullet wound to his head. yesterday the boy's family held

a news conference, asking the hospital for more time to consider their options. they were concerned that the hospital had concluded too quickly that hiram was injured so severely that he would never recover consciousness. now we saw a hospital spokes woman about an hour and a half ago and she declined to comment. hiram was -- excuse me -- hiram was one of seven people injured in a shooting in oakland at a parking lot about 11 days ago. investigators have detained several people in connection with that shooting, but so far, they have not made any arrests. [ coughing ] . >> reporter: my colleague alex savage is following this story and trying to communicate with those family members. he'll have the latest at 10. for now live in ocean # oakland, ktvu, channel 2 news students and faculty at oakland technical high school today tried to come to terms with the sudden death last night of a recent graduate. 19-year-old fred thompson was a freshman football player at oregon state university. he was playing a pickup basketball game last night, when he collapsed, and died of an apparent heart attack.

>> he had that personality that like whenever you see him he would always make you smile, no matter what situation you was in, he'll always just be there for you. >> grief counselors were on campus for anyone who needed them. fred thompson would have been 20 years old on sunday. california health officials find 14 hospitals today for mistakes that endangered patients. reprimanded hospitals include kaiser south san francisco, pack kerr children's hospital at stanford, san francisco general hospital. solano medical center in vallejo, and ucsf medical center. all bay area hospitals on the list were fined $50,000, except for ucsf. it received a $75,000 fine because it had six recent violations. >> we tried to work collaboratively to bring down these events. >> solano medical center left a sponge inside a woman who underwent a c section. a center spokesman told us that it's established a bar code

system to check out and in all surgical instruments. the battle over proposition 8 returned to court today, and in just the last hour the attorneys for both sides spoke out about the case. ktvu's ken pritchett is live in san francisco, where the issue over who presided over the prop 8 case and video of the trial was argued. ken. >> reporter: i was in the courtroom this afternoon and here was the main argument of the day: should the judge who ruled that proposition 8 was unconstitutional have revealed that he himself was gay? judge vaughn walker did reveal that he was in a long-term gay relationship, but he only did that once he retired. same sex opponents, same sex marriage opponents, say that that judge should have revealed that before he took the case and before he ultimately overturned the gay marriage ban. >> a gay or lesbian judge, in a long-term relationship that desired to marry would have an obvious and clear direct interest in the outcome of the

case and be sitting on his or her own case. >> reporter: attorney charles cooper arguing in support of proposition 8, said that judge walker had a vested interest in the outcome of the case because the judge may have wanted some day to get married. the ninth circuit court of appeal judges seem dismissed about that argument saying there's no evidence that judge walker was considering marriage and raising the question if a heterosexual judge should step aside if that judge were married or didn't believe in gay marriage. one judge has already ruled against the proposition 8 supporters, saying judge walker acted properly. plaintiff's attorney david boyd said there was no need for the judge to reveal that he was gay. >> i think the cases are clear, that if something is irrelevant, you don't have to disclose it. >> reporter: the ninth circuit also heard arguments about releasing videotape taken during the proposition 8 trial. the gay marriage advocates of those are supporting gay marriage believe that those

videotapes will help them make their case of public opinion. now this same three-judge panel will rule on both issues. they are expected to do that at the same time they review the overall case which is the question is the gay marriage ban, proposition 8, is it unconstitutional or constitutional. that ruling should be coming in a matter of weeks. san francisco, ken pritchett, ktvu. and our coverage couldn't on ktvu.com. you'll find background, and more information on the legal fight going on right now over proposition 8. more companies are covering the cost of gender reassignment surgery for employees. new data from the human rights campaign. the nation's largest gay rights group, says 207 of the 686 businesses it surveyed are covering most of the surgery or plan, to start in 2012. last year just 85 companies did, and in 2009, that number was 49. former city councilman david cole is facing a $11

1,fine for ethics violations. this more than the california fair political practices commission cited cole for failing to disclose his financial relationship with a developer who received city contracts. cole is now in the army. a commissioned staffer tells ktvu news cole did not respond to the commission's inquiries. lucky supermarket says it is hearing from more people affected by a credit card skimming scam. initially they reported 300 customers had been victimized. now the number has grown to 500. authorities say the thieves installed data readers in the store's self check out lanes. the scam was first detected last month but it's unclear how far back the data theft goes. a federal reserve in downtown san francisco has once again become a hot spot for the occupy movement. jade hernandez live in san francisco with the back and forth going on between protesters and police. jade. >> reporter: that's right. mayor ed lee's spokes woman told me a few hours ago protesters have the right to assemble, demonstrate and even

stand wherever. we're live in front of the federal reserve bank. but san francisco draws the line at city law. san francisco city workers began cleaning justin herman plaza early this morning when occupier dared to pitch his tenant in spite of heavy police presence. >> i got out and ran it across the street and they chased after us. >> so you took your tent with you? >> yeah, yeah. we tried to runt the tent across the -- tried to run the tent across the street because we didn't want to get it taken. about 30 cops followed us. >> reporter: san francisco police officers approached the man inside his tent and take it down. the man laid back down on top of it and refused to answer our questions about what he planned to do next. by the afternoon, the plaza was clear. [ music ] . >> reporter: but a block away in front of the federal reserve bank, a couple dozen demonstrators continued to protest. >> we made it a point to be in solidarity and come back and get together and talk about reoccupying the space and just exercise our rights. >> we will have a physical

presence out here in the financial district 24/7. that's what the occupation is about. >> reporter: but it has to be in accordance with city ordinances, including no sleeping in a park. this afternoon, a police commander explained to a couple dozen demonstrators in front of the federal reserve, the needed to keep away rodents. >> we got to get this out of here. we've brought in d.p.w. to help teddy things up -- tidy things up. there's food and chips and nuts laying around. you saw there's good cooperation. you aren't going to have to move everything. >> reporter: we are live just about a half block from where we were at the beginning of this story. you can see the san francisco command center just down the block. now, just down there, i have been told by packs and rec that it will cost $50,000 to -- parks and rec that it will cost $50,000 to fix the damaged irrigation system at justin herman plaza and three to four weeks to restore the turf. the plaza around the bocci ball

courts should be open to the public this weekend. live in san francisco, jade hernandez. get up! get up. come on. >> santa cruz police cleared its cities largest occupy encampment this morning. officers clad in riot gear from eight different departments arrested eight people for obstructing their efforts as they removed tents and belongings from san lorenzo park. police say city crews hauled away 8 tons of trash and the encampment contributed to $5000 worth of damage to the park. a second suspect in the black friday shooting outside a san leandro wal-mart store surrendered to police. the 29-year-old was arrested this morning after barricading himself inside an east oakland home for six hours. authorities say watson and another suspect tried to rob a man and shot him in the parking lot of the wal-mart store. watson faces several charges including attempted murder. law enforcement in the south bay arrested more than 30 people in a major gang raid this morning. authorities say 20 federal, state, and local officers

targeted some of the most powerful gang members in the area. the sweep was done between 4 and 10:00 this morning at homes in gilroy. morgan hill, holster, san martin and san jose. they say they were all members of a gilroy street gang. officers seized drugs as well as weapons. it appears bart trains that currently stop in fremont will be going into san jose one day. as we'll show you, now there is enough money to build the first part of the extension. and back here in 10 minutes, tomorrow's forecast. another cold start to your friday. i'll show you the areas that could see freezing numbers. @

-dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ >> take a look here. this photo was snoop # snapped

by -- was snapped by a santa clara county employee who interrupted a group of people trying to break into the county building last night. the sheriff's department says nothing was damage but the group threatened the employees who found them. investigators say this incident happened shortly after the city's deadline for occupy protesters to tear down their encampment. a man is under arrest in connection with several bart copper thefts. officers arrested 52-year-old dennis mcgeary at his home in san francisco. there have been several copper thefts from bart tracks in the last two weeks. the thefts have cost bart $90,000. the bart extension to san jose got a big push forward today. robert hondo live tonight in fremont with a new commitment that makes the transit project all but a reality. >> reporter: we are in fremont where the bart line ends, for now. but today's action means the line will almost certainly head south soon. bart is coming to san jose. today the valley transportation authority voted to pay a new

york firm $772 million to build the first 10 miles of a bart extension from fremont to the district of north san jose. the money comes mainly from local tax measures, passed in 2000 and 2008. the long range plan is to run all the way to downtown san jose and santa clara but they say this is the start. >> it's a major step, and one that there's no turning back at this point. >> this is great news for san jose, santa clara county. commuters, workers, and residents, because we're finally going to get the bart project moving. >> reporter: some commuters are satisfied for now. >> going all the way downtown would be better for me since i live downtown. but this is still good too. it makes it easier for me to commute if i need to. >> reporter: silicone valley leaders say the project will boost the economy. >> this creates 13,000 jobs over the four-year life of this first 10 mile segment. >> reporter: a bart extension from fremont to san jose could also help peninsula commuters

such as in sunny veil and mountain view because the extension will run through milpedas connecting the cities by light rail. >> i come from mountain view. our residents voted overwhelmingly for the tax measure in 2008. and i think it's because they saw the added connections. >> reporter: bta says that taxpayer support will help convince the federal government to chip in $900 million for the next phase. for now, ground break willing take place early next year with bart trains coming into san jose by late 2016. live from fremont, robert honda, ktvu. oakland mayor jean quann reacted today as the recall effort targeting her gained steam. >> being mayor of oakland is really hard. i heard they were having disagreements. i'm not surprised a group split off from the original group. the bottom line is that the city has a lot of important issues. >> as quann mentioned, there are now two separate groups trying to oust her from office. they have until mid may to

collect at least 20,000 signatures to force a recall election. the state's income gap is widening. the public policy institute of california said today between 2007 and 2010, the gap between the highest and lowest income families grew to its widest level in 30 years. researchers say the state's median income also fell about 11%. the state's highest earner saw an 8% income decline. san francisco mayor ed lee is having private talks with the niners to discuss ways to keep the team in the city. the mayor says he was scheduled to meet with jed york today. he says he wants the team to stay in san francisco. instead of moving to santa clara. the nfl is suing the nations restaurant chain over a new billboard outside the oakland coliseum. the billboard says quote raid a nation. nfl claims it violates the raiders' raider nation slogan and implies a partnership between the two. a raiders spokes woman tells us the nfl filed the suit and the

raiders were named as a co- party. fireplaces aren't getting much use during this cold spell. for the second day, the region is under a spare the air alert. another one is posted for tomorrow. the mandate bans the use of wood burning fireplaces unless that's the home's only source of heat. and weather for us tonight will be downright cold out there. temperatures into the 30s, freezing levels, as well. and of course, that means that you will see frost and some freezing conditions. let's check out live storm tracker 2. you can see the temperatures already in the napa valleys are in the 40s. 44 in napa. that's cold right now. as we head into tomorrow, the fog and the low clouds come back. we had it this morning. and as julie mentioned, spare the air night, one again tomorrow night. if wood fires, that's the only source of heat you have, you can go ahead. it's not breaking the rules, if it's your only source of heat you can burn the wood. good news. in the forecast for tomorrow would require that if you're up there in the burnville area and

have a wood stove you'll be cold. burn it. napa 28 degrees when you wake up. the topography in this area, the cool air drains right down to the valley floor, just settles. so napa will be one of the coolest spots in the north bay tomorrow. in the afternoon look for temperatures into the upper 50s but still a mild to cool day. overnight lows forecast with patchy fog, frost and some freeze. 31 in antioc, 29 in fairfield. friday looks good. dry. mild. and as you head into saturday night, sunday, a few more clouds and then sunday, this weak system comes down the coast. no big deal, but it could bring a few sprinkles. sunday night into monday, we'll watch this close to you. rosemary will be in here. mark will be in here this weekend and paying close attention to this sunday. i don't think it's a deal breaker for your bay area weekend. the main impact would just drop temperatures down. bring some clouds and maybe some drizzle. stay tuned on this one. the forecast highs tomorrow. greens are 60s. this iso therm map or temperature map.

colors represent temperatures. blues are 50s, greens are 60s, looks just like yesterday and the day before. what we had today is what we'll see tomorrow. hazy sunshine tomorrow afternoon, upper 50s at lunchtime. low 60s in the warmest spots. 59 is your daytime high in napa, 61 in santa rosa, 58 in brentwood, and 61 in san jose, and 62 in morgan hill. tomorrow night another spare the air night. again, you want to abide by the rules, and if it's the only source of heat you have, that's fine. burn your wood and burn your fireplace. but if you have other sources, do not. it's strictly forbidden. the five day forecast with the bay area weekend. if you watch this on sunday. are you here sunday, mike? >> sunday morning >> so rosemary will be talking about chances for sprinkles. >> just sprinkles, not a half inch or anything? >> it won't shut you down. >> thank you, bill. coming up, on tv 36, a big holiday blow for one bay area mother. a grinch walks off with all her children's presents. how police are planning to hep.

>> and maybe you -- to help. and maybe you missed the tweet. twitter undergoes a make over. join us for these stories and more at 7 on tv 36. it is one of the largest contracts in major league baseball history. the free agent mega star headed to a california baseball team. >> closed captioning brought to you by ram. stop by the sales event at your local ram dealer.

>> a tiny species of antelope has a new home at the san francisco zoo. this is called a dikdik. they get their name from an alarm call. and escape predators by dashing in a zig zag pattern. since the dikdik exhibits monogamous behavior, the zoo will add a female. the big bat is not coming to the bay area. >> and this also means, today's signing means the a's just got eliminated from the 2012 playoffs. because the l.a. angels just bought themselves two key components to compete with texas in the a.l. west. the prized free agent in the major leagues albert pew "local on the 8s" agrees to a 454 contract with the angels. he is coming off his second

world series champion. now the machine goes to the american league will he can play first base and d.h. when he gets older. and the angels added starting pitcher c.j. wilson. wilson helped texas reach the world series the last two seasons, but he is a southern california native and the angels out bid both the rangers and miami marlins. both nba owners and players ratified the new collective bargains agreement today. the feeding frenzy officially begins tomorrow. and today, several sources report that the l.a. lakers will get all star point guard chris paul from new orleans in a three team trade. the lakers are reportedly send lag march odom to the jorge meants and paul gasol to houston. the rockets send three players to new orleans. >> and the sharks host the dallas stars tonight. the last time they met they had several fights. in that november 19th encounter they had two bouts two seconds apart. tonight could be another grudge match. >> definitely the dallas games are always, everybody plays with a little chip on their shoulder. i'm sure there is going to be some bench to bench bickering,

and everything else. it's going to be a grindy gritty game. >> and stanford's quarterback andrew luck wins the maxwell camp foundation's award as the college football player of the year. julie and mike, hopefully he'll add a heisman on saturday. >> very exciting. thanks, brett. and thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news. complete coverage continues on mobile cable view. and book mark us, make ktvu.com your home page. stay up to date on breaking news and the latest developments of the day. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪