the question is, is pg & e going to admit they were solely responsible, and that's what they haven't done yet. >> but i would -- >> on the key to pg & e statement is faster compensation to victims if victims settle rather than go for a potentially much larger jury verdict. in effect, pg & e will have to be more generous in settlements than would be the case. but having a handle on the liability will help make financial statements and it's stock price going forward. and it more quickly puts blind it the ugliest chapter of pg & e's long khaplter. tom vacar. in vallejo police are investigating a homicide tonight. authorities were called to stuts alley just after 1:00 where they found the body of michael webster. webster was in some kind of confrontation at illinois street where she was shot. he then ran off and collapsed and died in an alley.

police have no suspect as of yesterday, webster is the 16th homicide in vallejo so far this year. four people were injured, three of them seriously after a head on collision. you can see how bad it was. the crash happened just before 3:30 this afternoon at skyline boulevard in herb street that's near lake merced. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. tonight the state budget crisis deepens with school bus service potentially cancelled and even more cuts to higher education social services. ken pritchett live to explain to us how fallen tax revenues are behind these cuts. >> these are the so called trigger cuts that were crafted by the legislature earlier this year as part of the process of passing a budget, well those trigger cuts were announced today $1 billion much coming from schools and other social

service programs while these people call trigger cuts, others say they are not nearly as bad as they could have been. governor brown summed up the problem in just a few seconds. >> we don't have if money and we're going to cut back. >> reporter: more than half a billion dollars to be cut nearly half from education. k-12 education was cut $7 million in general funding. and there was an elimination from the school bus program which could moth ball the bus service from schools entirely. >> they can't get their kids to school, kids won't come to school, they can't have school without transportation. so it's unsustainable. >> reporter: over the summer lawmakers passed the budget with these trigger cuts that would kick in if revenue estimates fell short. they did. >> they overinflated what the revenues were going to be and

did not take sufficient other reductions. >> reporter: but governor brown said as bad as the cuts may be the cuts could have been more than doubled. but california's economy and revenues did improve. >> california gained over 90 billion in income to the state. so this is a state on the move. >> reporter: these trigger cuts go into effect much of them on january 1st. then just a couple of weeks later the governor will unveil his new budget for the coming year which he says will contain many more billions of the dollars in cuts that could be offset if voters approve taxes in november of next year. sacramento ken pritchett, ktvu channel two news. a new poll indicates a majority of californians favor a tax hike proposed by governor jerry brown. according to the poll by the policy institute of california nearly 2/3 of californians favor the governor's plan to temporarily increase the state's sales tax and boost the

income taxes of california's highest earnings. 40% fair ár favored spending cuts to help balance the budget -- 40% favored spending cuts to help balance the budget. port workers and truck drivers are trying to make up for lost time during the port blockade we showed you live here at 5:00. though the port has reopened there's still a backlog of shipments. truck drivers are having to pay late fees for not delivering their shipments on time. today's problems at the port of oakland started very early when protesters established another picket line. >> this is quite a moment for the occupy movement, we're live, we're kicking. >> reporter: live shore men refused to cross the picket line. occupy protesters created a blockade as well bringing work to the port of oakland to a standstill. truck drivers say they each

lost hundreds of dollars as a result. >> couple of $100 because i didn't get to come into the port so i just had to stay local. >> reporter: although some longshoremen took part in the blockade their union did not support it. the international warehouse union says it did not support the action because it was not consulted by the occupy movement prior to the blockades. have likely caused a loss for the port of oakland of millions of the dollars when it comes to business. a port spokesman said an exact figure has not been tabulated but the port of oakland has -- on a typical day. the blockade prompted the cancellation of at least three of the longshoremen shifts. tom vacar reporting on the fall out from the protests at the port of oakland during the past two days. a small group of occupy protesters has taken it's protest to lake merit. over the weekend about five protesters launch add boat made of wooden blanks and barrels on

to lake merit. they've been floating there since saturday. today they came briefly ashore to talk with us. they said that more occupy protesters are t esters are planning to join them. >> we're probably breaking minor laws, but nothing major and so far i don't think we're really in anyone's way. >> we checked with the officials of the city parks department and with police. they told us that unauthorized boats are not permitted on lake merit. in fact, the police department says they are aware the boaters are there. for the past week voters are trying to recall mayor quan from oakland. eric rasmussen has the reaction on the street. >> reporter: there's no shortage of people out here, this is where they set up today. and i can tell you the talk of

a recall had people on both sides of this debate fired up. it's a question people in oakland could be hearing a lot. >> ma'am, have you signed a recall petition for jean quan. >> everybody wants a title and nobody is doing the damn work. what the -- is going on here. >> reporter: richardson gave her signature and two cents about oakland mayor jean quan. >> unfortunately this woman is in here, we voted for her and she has nothing, nothing at all. >> reporter: now they have until may to force a recall election something that is fueled in part by the mayor's handling of occupy oakland and the police department. >> we saw her drive out a popular police chief. there's no public safety in the neighborhoods. >> reporter: this man would not give his signature even though he says he's no fan of the mayor. >> i'm not politician and i don't know how to do these things productively but i don't think the occupy movement is the answer, i don't think

recalling the mayor quite right now is the answer. >> reporter: and some of mayor quan's supporters are urging frustrated voters to think twice before recalling her out of the office. >> about recalling the mayor right now that's not solving the problem. >> reporter: and they'll be back out again this weekend. we weren't able to hear back from the mayor's office today but in the last week she's called this recall effort devisive. eric rasmussen, channel 2 news. in a surprise news, jerry sandusky waved his right to a preliminary hearing today -- waiving his hearing sending his case straight to trial. sandusky called it a tackty cal -- tactical move. >> what greater motivation, i hate to say it but that's going to be part of our case and

we're checking on it now. greater motivation could there be than money. >> coming up at 5:30, why a former prohockey player testified before congress today and how its related to the case against sandusky. state attorney general camila harris was in san jose to announce the creation of a new cyber crimes office in her office. . harris said more than a million californians are victims of identity theft every year and that the number is growing. >> but where there are predators and predatory practices we also want to ensure that we have the skills and the technology to go after them. >> reporter: harris went on to say that 10 of the nation's top 25 cities for identity theft related crimes last year were

in california and she estimated the financial losses to those instate victims was more than $46 million. just about an hour ago here the republican led house approved legislation to extend social security payroll tax cuts. now the cuts are expected to expire at the end of the month. the white house today said the legislation forces middle class families to pay for the measure without asking the rich to contribute. republicans say it would create jobs. >> it is an does represent a middle ground, and we asked the president to join us and finally putting himself behind this bill to help the middle class. >> the measure comes with a controversial provision that would rush approval of a much disputed oil pipeline. that provision triggered a veto threat by president obama. the bill is expected to be dead on arrival in the democratic controlled senate. americans are doing a lot of gift buying this holiday shopping season and it's helping the economy grow.

according to the commerce department it has helped produce a sixth trade monthly increase when it comes to retail sales -- sixth strait monthly increase. it has left interest rates near zero for the past three years. the fed today in its latest policy statement said the u.s. economy is slightly healthier. hirings picking up and consumers are speaking more. unemployment still is high and warns that europe's death crisis continues to pose a threat. stocks fell sharply today about europe's financial crisis. before the feds statement stocks had gained and lost momentum over concerns with the euro. the dow slipped more than 66

points. talking on his cell phone while driving is against the law, why key federal agents say it should be outlawed even hands free. back here in 10 minutes i have tomorrow's forecast it includes freezing temperatures and more fog. see you back here.

we have learned from the san francisco fire department that all of the smoke alarms in this tenderloin apartment building in san francisco were working when a fire broke out there last saturday night. however some of the 200 people who were forced out on to ellis street because of the flames said they never heard those alarms. seven people were sent to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. 14 residents remain displaced tonight as as a result of that fire. the national transportation board is calling for a ban of cell phone use and driving.

drivers are more than 160 times more likely to be involved in an accident when texting or e- mailing. government statistics say more than 3,000 people died on the road last year as a result of distracted driving. >> i think it's time to face the facts that no one can drive safely when they're distracted. and it's not just about the driver that's distracted it's about the safety of everyone else who's on the roadway with them. >> reporter: the recommendation is adopted by states would outlaw nonemergency phone calls and texting by drivers of every vehicle on the road. if you can imagine today's recommendation has a lot of drivers talking. ktvu's rob roth here to talk about the proposed changes really don't end there, rob. >> reporter: the ntsb says using a cell phone even hands free is dangerous and should be banned. distracted driving, the california office of traffic

safety says it's caused the death of more than 150 people last year. one of those was kelly purr murray she was in a crosswalk when a teenage driver ran into her. the driver kateland dunway says she was texting at the time and was sentenced to jail for vehicle manslaughter. driving while using a cell phone is becoming epidemic. >> people are using phones all the time. i will drive alongside of them and say hey you know it's against the law. then i tell them you're doing the exact same thing that killed my daughter. the ntsb is placing a law that prohibiting driving behind the wheel. drives can get tickets while talking behind the phone or texting but there's no law against using hands free devices. the highway patrol says even hands free is not danger free. >> operating a cell phone be it hands free or texting or anything like that takes your

mind off of driving. >> the ntsb are just that, recommendations but can carry weight. >> i am surprised federal government is even thinking about this, that's incredible in itself. >> i think it'll be really hard to regulate. to say there's no talking on a cell phone in a car i mean who is to stop someone from turning on their speaker phone and just driving down the road. >> earlier this year state lawmakers approved a bill to double the funds for distracted driving but governor jerry brown vetoeing saying it would be too expensive for most people. reporting live in marin county, rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news. the ntsb used this accident as an example for the need for the federal ban. the driver who caused this change reaction in missouri sent and received 11 texts in the 11 minutes leading up to the crash. two people ended up dying including that driver. 38 others were injured. a spare the air day alert

is going out for the fifth time this winter. that means tomorrow all wood burning will be banned to prevent tiny particles from contributing to air pollution. air quality officials say that pollution could reach unhealthy levels tomorrow. so far this season has surpassed last year for the spare the air alerts. you were just saying a moment ago more freezing temperatures tonight? >> could be cold, not quite as cold as last night when we saw temperatures dip into the upper 30ings. it was really cool out there in some of those northwest valleys. fog was showing up but not a lot of it. there's the system spinning down the coast. the system spreads down the coast. i wanted to show you the wind read, there's a temperature right now at napa of 47. santa rosa 49. it's cold right now, right. this wind report in santa rosa

or concord west of 14 miles per hour. that westerly wind is one of the reasons it's going to be just a little bit warmer tonight because there's a little bit of wind out there and that will stir things up. it's still going to be chilly, there's still going to be patchy fog. with a little bit of wind i think we will say goodbye to those upper 20s and see more upper 30s. right now in arizona it's downright cold. very cold for this time of night, 59 in redwood city. you know it's going to be another chilly one. these are the forecast lows. 35 in vallejo, we had plenty of frost on windshields. i think we will see a little more valley fog. we had it this morning in the north bay. it was not -- there wasn't a lot of it but you may have bumped into it. it was there then it was gone. i think tomorrow morning will be similar. you will be driving into the low lying area, that's how this thing works. you drop down 50 feet or so and

you get into these low lying drainage basins. that stable atmosphere the tight low enversion is condusive to air quality. that's tomorrow night. the worse hit will be the unhealthiest air in the north bay. there's a chance for sprinkles coming up in the next 36 hours or so. so we'll talk about that as well, we'll see you back here. the next biggest things in rockets may not be coming from nasa. hp is producing a plane, the launch design will be powerful

enough to carry a six person crew into orbit. the first planes are expected in 2015. hard to believe but a machete found near a children's play area. that's just the beginning, the most common effect found in centers nationwide. police revealed the issue a teen allegedly lied about being kidnapped triggering an amber alert. may not look like much in this picture: but see the balloons there, this led to a hefty fine. how this promotion didn't go quite as planned. new at 6:00, an unusual answer to fertility troubles. no costs, no doctors, just this one mans sperm bank. >> there's been at least a dozen children in this community that have already been born, plus a number of pregnancies right now. >> we hear from one of the mothers and learn why the fda is allowing him to continue his practices. plus -- >> why a patient at this south bay hospital will be the last

in a ground breaking study. tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. ♪

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police say a teenager from sassoon city has said that she lied about being kidnapped. she said she lied so that her family would be so relieved to see her they would not be upset about her being pregnant. there's no doubt about the fact that if centers are not doing background checks, not just initially but also repeat

background checks over a period of time the kids are more at risk. >> other findings included a machete near a play area and chemicals assessable to children. head start is the name of a federal program helping to prepare children from low income neighborhoods from school. child advocates say the findings are more concerned about the fact that 90% of the center's audited did not comply to background checks on instructors. >> may be true that a background check will not pick up every single possible individual who might have a concern in history. but if you don't know that you certainly won't know it and we do know that background checks do screen out routinely

interested individuals that have criminal background checks. some of the facilities found have violations will be stripped of their federal findings. others say they will fix the problem. michael jackson's former doctor says he can no longer pay for his legal defense. dr.conrad murray asked the court to provide him with a defender. the 58-year-old has been stripped of his medical license. a company is facing a fine for releasing thousands of red balloons. thousands of the red balloons balloons ended up in the bay after the company failed to check weather conditions and the balloons quickly fell back to earth. today the company was fined $7,000 by the bay regional quality control board for endangering wildlife. the company also spent an undisclosed amount of money

fishing the balloons from the bay. depression and thoughts of suicide can also be part of the holiday season, we'll show you how facebook has become friends with a suicide hot line to offer a link for help. new fall out tonight from the penn state football sex scandal. how that case could impact everyone over the age of 18. the tv's over there! yep, we got you the new at&t u-verse wireless receiver so you can put your tv pretty much anywhere you want. and that stand... anywhere? like, we can put it over there? and that coffee... or we could t it on the patio for watching the game with the guys. or in the kitchen? but, these curtains are... i can't believe you moved the tv. it's like a whole new living room. it actually is a whole new living room. [ male announcer ] the new wireless receiver, only from at&t. now get u-verse with dvr at the lowest price ever. at&t. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question.

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facebook is now joining us with a national group to try to help people who may be thinking of suicide. facebook is hoping to connect the new generation with the old telephone based suicide prevention hot line. robert handa is here to

explain how it will work and how it may help someone thinking about suicide. >> reporter: today facebook began offering a way to get help almost immediately. there are millions of people communicating through facebook and even at a prominent school such as willow glen heights in san jose many students see messages that expressed thoughts about suicide. linda perkermi says the wording goes like this. >> i just don't know what to do anymore. that's definitely one. another one might be, i feel like i've done everything and no one is listening to me, no one hearing me out. >> reporter: google, facebook and other sites already connect with the national suicide prevention lifeline but today facebook made it more immediate. now when a friend flags one and a message as a risk for suicide, facebook encourages a call to the hot line or a click

to a link to chat with a counselor. >> some people don't want to call. they don't want to talk through the telephone. they want to communicate via chat. >> it's a good idea because kids want to have a place where they can go talk to someone but not actually face to face. sometimes it's just easier to talk over the internet. >> reporter: al gallegos still recommends one on one counseling but says facebook's feature is a useful tool because many suicidal thoughts are not just to get attention. >> the fact that they're even thinking about it is serious. >> try to see if there's anything you can do to be positive toward them and try to be there for them more. >> reporter: facebook's new feature will be useful during the holidays but the lifeline officials point out nearly 100 people commit suicide every day year round. live in san jose, robert handa?

the state senate committee held a hearing in oakland. the focus of the hearing was to ensure effective community outreach and public -- several east bay mayors attended the hearing. >> everybody now knows that we have a port. and that we also have an international airport and because of our essential location in the bay area how we handle transportation afects -- affect it is entire bay area. >> mayor quan says that the transportation makes it one of the top ten sustainable and green cities in the country. the effect from a port blockade are still being felt in oakland where port of oakland workers are trying to make up for lost time. as you can see from news chopper 2. trucks were lined up at the port for most of the day trying to make up for a backlog

of shipment. the ripple effect from the occupy protests are being felt by many who consider themselves to be part of the 99%. >> reporter: campos tiny truck, tire repair shop has had no business for the better part of two days he does not buy occupy's tactics. >> they say they try to help us. we're a small business and truck drivers you know. but like you see everything happened the other way. >> reporter: the cargo distribution center told its day shift workers to stay home for a second straight day. >> we couldn't bring them in because we didn't pick up any merchandise yesterday from the terminal since they were closed. >> now here's the problem, with no loaded trailer ready available to replace this empty one, and really no place for this empty trailer to go, work here comes to a complete and total standstill. >> we're challenged to see if we're going to get enough containers for tomorrow's am shift. and all good probability we're

going to be closed here again tomorrow morning. >> cargo distribution is precised fast pace broke where every break in the flow affecting everything in the supply chain from manufacturer to consumer. >> it goes in one door and goes out the other door. and everything you see on the will only last us a few hours. >> any disruption, even the threat of disruption is damaging to business, hurts workers and at a time of year where you hope workers have a little extra money in their pockets. >> reporter: shippers are eyes ports like seattle as well as the east coast via the panama canal. consumer editor tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. obama made his campaign fund raising appearance. the president emphasized the differences in political philosophy between the democratic and republican

parties as part of his appeal to the party faithful. >> it's not a few of us doing well and then the rest of us hoping that we get lucky. but rather everybody as a team moving this country forward. and that vision in contrast to a vision that basically says you are on your own is what this election was about in 2008 it's what this election is going to be about in 2012. >> many political observers say the president is already in campaign mode. everyone as the republican party is yet to choose it's presidential candidate. donald trump is bowing out. he now says he will not be moderating a gop presidential debate at all. only two contenders agreed to

participate. some worried that he would be making an announcement he would run again. the former central coast arrived in cabo to talk about military leaders about the war. when he leaves afghanistan, panetta will go to iraq, libya then on to turkey. the penn state jerry sandusky abuse case is causing fall out throughout the country. congress is talking about a sweeping new federal law that would require any adult to report suspected child abuse to police. as ktvu scott mcfarland tells us among those testifying today was a former star player in the nhl. >> here tonight, congress considering a law. >> reporter: former nhl star kennedy says he was sexually abused by a youth sports coach,

a powerful man who had god like status in the community. which is why he told us no one intervened. >> we have able obligation to take care of our children and i believe that we need to recognize it and act on it. kennedy told u.s. senators today they need to stiffen federal law to force witnesses of child abuse to speak up and make it less frightening for victims to come forward. >> it is adults with whom the greatest responsibility for breaking the silence of abuse rests. >> but congress isn't sure how to tackle this. one proposal would require everyone over the age of 18 report any suspected abuse of a child or face criminal charges. another would order better training of certain professionals, teachers, day care providers, some government workers of what they must tell authorities. safety watchdog groups though say clearly the jerry sandusky case has given congress a strong push to do something to improve the patch work of child abuse laws that differ state by state. >> sadly it seems this is not

just a penn state or syracuse story. that sadly we needed these scandals, we needed even these bad actors to bring this discussion forward. >> under one of these new proposals it would not just be a crime to fail to report, it would be a felony. punishable by at least one year in prison. scott mcfarlane. you won't see it but you will see it. what will soon be different about television commercials. it's one kind of coin you won't be seeing much of in the future. the reason behind the change that is coming to your pocket change. why people who walk dogs for a living may have to do in the future if they want to keep their jobs. [ male announcer ] steak combos,

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>> the federal communication is turning down the volume on extra loud commercials. the fcc voon regulating a bill that regulates volume on commercials not to exceed the volume of programming around it. television, cable and satellite providers will now have one year to comply. workers could come up with trillion dollars shoárt in the next decade -- dollars short in the next decade.

the state could not close the gap by reducing the pensions of the state workers alone. the contract assumed a low return. the postoffice is planning to close postoffices around the country until may. the postoffice is on rout to experience a loss of $14 million next year. and had planned to make those closures starting early next year. a group of senators made the push to make the closures temporarily delaying laying off more than 1,000 postal workers. the u.s. mint is drastically scaling down production of the presidential dollar coin as part of an overall plan to cut back on waste. the obama administration said it will stop using the dollar

coins for normal use and produce only enough to accommodate collectors. >> i think we're now approaching nearly $1.4 million in surplus dollar coins. the new plan goes into effect immediately. it's expected to save taxpayers $50 million a year in production and storage costs. people who walk dogs for a living in san francisco may soon have to obey new rules. the plan is designed to create standards for pet behavior in city parks. the permit could cost about $250, the supervisors will consider the plan for approval next year. just in time for christmas new information about potentially harmful chemicals in popular toys like these.

what you need to know. and back in 10 minutes, i've got the five day forecast, your weekend is in view and there's also rain drops in view. an unusual answer to fertility troubles, no costs, no doctors just this one man sperm bank. >> there's been at least a dozen children in the community that have already been born. plus a number of pregnancies right now. >> we hear from one of the mothers and learn why the fda is allowing him to continue his practices. why a patient at this south bay hospital will be the last in a ground breaking study. tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. [ female announcer ] what's so great about...jcpcash?

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no exclusions. with jcpcash get 10...15 or... $20 off. storewide. unlike other stores, we don't make you come back to save! get up to $20 off with no exclusions. we make christmas affordable. you make it yours. jcpenney. you might not be able to find nemo soon, environmentalists are warning that 60% of the species associated with characters on that popular movie finding nemo are in extension. hammer head sharks and rays. environmentalists say it's

because those species interact with people. even nemo species the clown fish is in trouble although not yet at risk of extension. before you go out and buy toys this year, you may want to know about indoctrine conductors. john fowler has possible problems. >> reporter: the chemicals are now acknowledged to be in 600 products. even in environmental correct berkeley at this upscale toy store, among the most popular items on if display window, plastic toys. 350 different german made toys virtually every one contains bpa. a chemical linked in lab animals to hormone disruption, early puberty and cancer. the findings disturb some

shoppers. >> it's on the market and very popular. perhaps they could make it out of something else. >> reporter: this report is made on manufacturers reporters required in maine. but how concerned should consumers actually be? >> well, there may not be enough exposure to worry about some one toy, and one kid. this chemical we encounter it in our daily lives. linings of canned sodas and canned foods contain bpa. today's report listed many popular paints, and apoxy glues with another indocrine disrupter known as bpe. >> for many reasons it's difficult to choose safer products because often we don't know what's in them. >> reporter: a california chemical labeling law takes effect next year but orsmon says what's needed is a change in federal policy that today allows chemicals on the market

unless proven harmful. it's better she says to prove they are safe before they are used. reporting live health and science editors, john fowler, ktvu news. uc davis researchers say they have a solution for those long waits on the tarmac. carriers should allow passengers to voluntarily get off the plane during severe delays. passengers would then be given the option to reboard later or cancel or change their tickets. researchers found that the policy would eventually improve profit by increasing customer loyalty and staving off expensive fines under the passenger bill of rights. just in time for the holiday traveling season, new figures show gas prices in california are going down. according to the energy department the average for a gallon of regular unleaded in california fell almost 16-cents over the past week to about $3.50. despite the decline it is still almost 25-cents higher compared to a year ago.

aaa says the average for regular unleaded in oakland is now $3.50. in san francisco it's $3.66. and in san jose it is $3.57. right now a public meting is getting under way -- meeting is getting under way in san francisco to unveil design options for a bicycle path. that's despite the fact that there is no funding for the $500 million project. the new eastern span that is current by being built will have a pedestrian path to yerba buena island. the toll authority is studying all terntive designs which are expected to be unveiled tonight. >> well, even though it's tuesday it's still not too early to think about the weekend. >> it's tuesday. >> and friday is almost here. >> i always think about the week end too. i do have the weekend in view in the five day forecast. as we go through the next couple of days, cold again.

some cold in the forecast and even rain drops. high todays we got it to 60 in mountain view. 59 in morgan hill. overnight lows that's been the story very, very cool. i've got a live storm tracker 2. winds are out of the west at 6 miles per hour at alameda and it's 50 degrees in oak land. with light winds out there we're expecting fog to reform tonight. tomorrow is going to be a day just like today with very cold temperatures. some places in the north bay down to 25 degrees with freezing fog reported in the santa rosa area. jet stream stays to the north tomorrow. and we get into this very similar pattern. it's going to be cool, mild some hazy sunshine and very light wind. those light winds is what's going to usher in this next weather system. here we are tomorrow night. there's your day, tomorrow is very nice right. by the way this is not a big deal. this is not enough to really even shutdown your outdoor plans for tomorrow afternoon. thursday morning, you can

always look at the blue is light drizzle type rain. the green might be some moderate windshield wiper action but not much. not very well organized. that is 7:00 a.m., that's your thursday morning commute. looks like it might be a little wet on the roadway then it's gone. so the rest of your day looks good. then we get into friday and saturday. it's not enough to put rain on the windshield but it'll be a cold day. this kind of fog is nasty, freezing fog, freezing temperatures, frost on windshields and low visibilities in the north bay. forecast highs tomorrow after the fog burns off in the north bay and parts of the south bay upper 50s, low 60s. your five day forecast then pops up with your bay area weekend firmly in view. gasia check it out. i think weekend too all the time. right now we're looking at a very nice weekend with some

very cool overnight lows. you're staying in the forecast, thursday morning for you might be a little bit wet. >> a lot of people already taking off for holiday related -- a lot of people off. >> and they think about the weekend. >> just like me. santa's helpers are being helped tonight. what area people are doing to pitch in and what you can do as well. anything else, hon? hon? do you call everyone hon? no. i'm sweetie. precious. sugar britches. whoever you are, get a whole dinner and a drink for just $8 with the $2, $4, $6, $8 value menu.

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it appears some of santa's helpers are right here in the bay area. tonight volunteers came to a san francisco postoffice to help answer some of the letters from boys and girls. >> one long sleeve t-shirt. i was expecting like barbies. >> reporter: several people stopped by the postoffice on evans today to pick out letters addressed to santa or the north pole and write back. >> i've never done it before but i know i'm going to pick up as many letters as i can and write back. i plan on like crafting lefters because i don't have a lot of money to buy gifts, so making them pretty with color pencils, stickers, whatever i can afford. >> if there's a needy child or just need a little extra help during the holiday season we make sure we get something for them to look at it. >> reporter: today is actually the last day to pick out a letter at the san francisco

postoffice. but they also have a letter to santas letter in oak land. you can pick up a letter on 13th and alice street from 9:00 until 3:00 in the afternoon every day. holiday shoppers in oakland are about to catch a break. the grace period being enacted for those parking meters.

>> this is not the way we want to hire california but we have to live within our needs. the governor pulls the trigger on a million dollars in automatic spepding cuts -- spending cuts. good evening everyone i'm frank somerville. >> and i'm julie haener. the cuts will impact public schools, higher education, meki- cal and in home care for seniors. ken wayne is here now with how this will shape up on new new year's day. >> reporter: perhaps the one that will get the most attention is funding statewide for school bus services. as bad as these cuts seem,