this could be a critical day in the domestic abuse allegations against san francisco sheriff and we just got new comments from a man who may play a role in what

happened to ross mirkarimi's career. >> ross mirkariimi is set to make an appearance before the court. with his new porn. defense attorney sait said he was parting ways with him but he would not say why. mirkarimi is accused of three charges of domestic violence begins his wife on new year's eve. in the meantime, three more accusers have stepped forward. mayor lee says he has not asked him to step down but he says he is looking at other options available to his office. >> the processes that i have are not just the mayor's office, as you fully realize now if you review the charter.

these processes involve ethics commission and the board of supervise size ors, that's what i'm under review with the city attorney about. it will take time for me to do that, and i may have to await the cop collusion of the trial itself. >> and in just about an hour, supporters of mirikami will sold a rally for him. his wife is expected to be there. and police are getting tips that they hope will help in the capture of a murder suspect. remon mcdaniel is the suspect. mcdaniel is accused of gunning down 19-year-old isaac white on january 4th on east 25th street. police say that the two men lived on the same street and that the shooting followed an argument. mcdaniel is believed to be

hiding out somewhere in northern california. a smoking break proved to be a bad choice for one man in alameda county who is now behind bars on a homicide charge. on friday night, 30-year-old franklin bean stepped outside of a sports bar to have a cigarette but it is illegal to light up within 25 feet of a building where smoking is ban. police who saw him ran a computer check on bean and found out that he was wanted for murder. he is being held without bail. the oakland police department is promoting a high- tech program that allows you to get crime alerts on your phone. it's called nixel and it's free to use. all you have to do is sign up online and choose the area where you live. the program is part of a tpt's effort to better communicate and form stronger relationships with the people of oakland. later in the newscast, you

will meet a 74-year-old northern california man who refused to be a crime victim. we'll tell you how the victim's prior career helped in the situation b.a.r.t. police say they need the public's help in the ongoing problem of copper theft. as claudine wong reports, they are not convinced they can help and our cameras may show you part of the reason why. >> reporter: conductors seemed to notice our cameras right away. some waved. a conductor and a b.a.r.t. employee were both instrumental in solving recent cases but it's not employees police are targeting now but the passengers and the public. i would think it must be happening some time in the middle of the night when trains are not running. >> reporter: do you think passengers can do anything about that? >> i don't think so, no. >> reporter: in a statement issued by b.a.r.t. police, authorities are asking

the but brick to be their extra set of eyes, looking out for suspicious activity. riders say they don't see anything on their ride. >> >> i have never seen anybody on the is train tracks you have never seen anyone suspicious roaming around b.a.r.t. or people doing something? >> no. >> reporter: and we may have a better idea of why. we shot this video this morning and slowed it down so you could get a good look at the riders inside. look closely. they all have one thing in common: nobody we saw seemed to see us, our camera or our bright light pointing straight at the train. all seem to be looking down, not out. >> i watch out for me. >> reporter: do you ever watch the tracks to see if you see anything suspicious roaming around? >> no, not really >> reporter: but police say thinks the public's problem that came as an estimated cost of $90,000 last year for an agency fund by public money.

and those cables are not only valuable but they key to keeping your train efficient and on time. so while conductors, employees and police are watching, b.a.r.t. hopes you will, too. in oakland, claudine wong, ktvu channel 2 news california voters may get a chance to vote on a proposal that would eliminate the high speed rail project. the secretary of state gave the project's opponents the go- ahead to start gathering significant gnaw toos to signatures to -- to start gathering signatures to put the measure on the ballot. state regulators are meeting right now in los angeles. they are set to approve new rules today aimed at revving up the manufacture of 0 emission cars. the california emission board is expected to require that 15% of new cars sold by california by 2025 run on electricity,

hide jeff or other systems that produce little or no showing. experts say that the vote could have a huge impact on the american automobile industry. the goal is to have 1.4 million zero emission cars on california roads by 2025. today, it it there are about 10,000. the energy was on the agenda as president obama continues his road trip to sell the agenda he promoted in the state-of-the-union address. mr. obama spoke at a las vegas utility where 59 of the vehicles run on electric natural gas instead of diesel. it is part of the focus on energy. among the things that he announced was a series of oil and natural gas lease sales in the gulf of mexico. >> we have to have an all out, all in, all of the above strategy that develops every source of american energy. >> from las vegas, the

president travels to denver as part of a five-state, three-day tour to push his economic agenda. with the florida primary coming up on tuesday, the republicans running for president campaigned this morning around the states. >> if you believe things are on the right track in america, then you ought to vote for barack obama. if you believe like i do that he has not put things on the right track, that we are on the wrong track, we need to change course in this country and get back to american values and principle, then i want your vote on tuesday. >> polls show mitt romney in a virtual tie with newt gingrich. they will take the stage tonight along with rick santorum and ron paul for a debate in jacksonville. a new survey finds liberalism is spreading on college campuses, especially among freshmen. u.c.l.a. researchers surveyed 200,000 first-year college students from around the country last year. they found college freshmen are leaning even farther left on key political issues, an you a-

time high of just 71% support same sex marriage, almost 6 1/2 points higher than in 2009. opinions on abortion, marijuana legalization, immigration and affirmative action also grew more liberal in 2011. using an ipad could be a pain in the neck. that's according to researchers at harvard and long-time apple rival, microsoft. they xmed the physical effects on the head, neck and shoulders, spending time staring at a tablet. users who hold the device around lap level usually hunch over. that puts strain on the neck muscles, much more than someone using a laptop computer. that is addressed in the whack world expo which is now underway in san francisco. there are plenty of practical

effects. lorraine joins us now with the big buzz. >> right now, hundreds of people are signing up and registering at mosconi center. they are using macs and ipads to do so. it's the first day of mac worlds and, here, you can get everything you need to go i- tech. >> rye the inet from rain design. >> it works in such a way that you can prop it on your lap. you create a completely hand free touch free experience. >> a newly but published harvard study shows that using the popular ipad can put a lot of strain on your body calling an eye and pain in the next literally. this is one of the many fun and helpful help. >> whether you are already scheduling your own appointment online, dog your banking on line, mobilized is where it's

at and the apple world has led in that area and you will see that continue to bear here. >> the three-day electronic extravaganza features 300 exhibitors, showing how this could allow you to take it everywhere you go. >> now you can access a windows desk top with the same familiar applications available like office and any number of the thousands of applications that you can get and you can access is on any device. >> so this year at mcword, it's really about mobility. you get to see the exclusive premiere of olive, the first full length feature film fully shot on cell phone. that should be interesting. lorraine blanco, ktvu channel 2 news ahead, what investigators are saying about a fire that damaged two bay area restaurants and the impact on

residents who live nearby. heavy fog and spring-like temperatures. tamayo will have more. >> to declare this. original joe day in san francisco. >> you will see more of today's event celebrating the return of a original.

oh, i see. a throne for the tv... room for movies... your workout gear... non-stop football... it's a man cave! the boys next door will never leave. who says we want them to?

tour bus caught fire this morning in san francisco as people were returning from a casino trip. the driver said there were about ten people on board when he noticed smoke in his mirror as he drove near oak and polk street on the edge of pan handle in hyatt ashbury district. no one was hurt. the fire department put out the flames. police in san francisco are investigating a collision between a taxicab and a muni bus. it happened about 10:00 this morning, right in front of the hall of justice on bryant street. the cash caused the cab to hit a fire hydrant but the hydrant did not run temperature one passenger in the cab wept to the hospital with minor injuries. no one he is was hurt. a plan to add thousands of parking meters in san francisco has been put on hold, at least for now.

the city's municipal transportation agency wants to install meters in the bay and in the mission district. under the plan, some people will have to pay to park outside their own homes. that idea is not sitting well with residents. >> what would you do if, suddenly, where you have to park your car when you get home, there was meters? i mean, what would you do? >> people use the area to park all day every dan and what we want to try to do is make sure that parking is available for everyone. >> reporter: the agency decided to delay next month's scheduled vote on the plan in part because of backlash from people who live in those neighborhoods. an informational meeting tonight will focus on gas pipeline safety on the peninsula. the forum is in response to the deadly san bruno explosion last year and the explosion in kupertino. a forum will include speakers from the california energy

regulation commission which regulates pg&e. a would-be robber met his match while trying to hold up a convenience store in sacramento. the suspect was scared off by the store owner's 70-year-old father who is a retired police officer from india. the incident was caught on tape. a masked man entered the store and pointed the gun at babdad dillon. he chased the suspect out of the store and ripped off his mask. >> the saying is, when somebody shows you a gun, what else can you do? you have to do something to protect the whole family. >> police have dubbed this criminal who is still on the loose, the evil mask clowned. they consider him to be very dangerous. the owner of two downtown berkeley restaurants are still

cleaning up because of a fire. it is right next door to rozan kitchen. it was a cooking fire that started in the kitchen of a chinese restaurant that quickly spread. both restaurants were evacuated and the smoke caused concerns for residents in a neighboring apartment building. many of them rushed outside. >> it was like rush in, a lot of people outside with their kids. it was cold. it was just like out of the blue. >> officials say no one was injured. the fire caused over $700,000 in damage. san francisco mayor ed lee was on hand today to reopen the new original joe's restaurant in a brand new location. >> 3, 2, 1. [ applause ] >> iconic san francisco restaurant opened more than 70 years ago in the tenderloin district but that restaurant

was destroyed by fire in 2010. 2007. the owner says that was a tough decision. >> everything has a season. we are so delighted to be here. we are so grateful for the welcome that we have received here. >> reporter: the know location is housed in the old fior d' italia case. the tv show alcatraz is creating problems for tour guides on the rocks. tourists are starting to stray from their tours looking for the secret underground control room depicted on the show. park officials are posting signs reminding visitors that the tv show is fictional. and the lifts at donner ski ranch are fired up and snow boarders showing off their

stuff and enjoying the snow. the resort has no equipment to make snow so it relies on mother nature to cover the slopes. and in the bay area, some changes for today. you can see the clouds pushing back into the region over night. most areas showing a cloudy skies. you step outside, you will notice mild conditions. right now, on live storm tracker 2, no storms out there but a big blanket of clouds that you can see in santa rose yarks san jose, san francisco. most areas in the 50s, warmest locations already in the 60s. santa rosa, 60 degrees oakland in the upper 50s. when you look outside the window, looks very cold, gloomy. you step outside, you notice

the mild locations there. camping out, satellite and radar, weak system up to our north generating a few showers and some drizzle here across part of the bay area, especially coast side here. we're going to hold on to that possibility into the afternoon hours and here is a wider perspective. the storm track is out here but look at what happens. the trajectory, most of the storms heading way up to our north. that should remain the case over the next few days. no significant storms showing up in our forecast, just yet. >> for today, weakening frontal system will continue to generate a few clouds, partly to mostly cloudy skies. into friday, this air afterlow pressure sets up shop in nevada, basically. this could generate a few snow showers. in fact, there is a slight chance right around lake tahoe. the pressure difference from that high to that low, that will generate wind and we could have winds out of north and northeast gutting to right around 25 to 30 miles per hour as we do head into your friday. for this afternoon, 3:00, we'll call it mild, upper 50s to the

60s. by 5:00, mostly cloudy skies, low to mid-50s. by the evening hours, still cloud and fog. temperatures back down into the upper 40s into the lower 50s. here is a look at the forecast high this afternoon. santa rosa, 64. san francisco in the lower 60s. san jose, 66 and gilroy in the upper 60s as well. here we go with the extended forecast with the weekend in view. clearing skies and warming temperatures into the afternoon but it could be a bit breezy, especially in the hills and then by saturday, torii, warmer locations approaching the 70- degree part. >> what? >> yes, 70 degrees. and a slight chance of a sprinkle into monday morning but no precipitation showing up in the long run. and that will feel like spring in the next few days. >> and we are still in the end of january. >> and we hope that the storm track will begin to shift by february. what's being called the worst year on record by a key

aind kate for for the economy. and things may look very different at one of san francisco's most popular tourist spots.

morning rally fizzled on wall street following news of factory order and strongearnings from the u.s. manufacturers. but stocks turned negative after a weaker report on home

sales and future economic growth released in the late morning. taking a live look at the big board, the dow down 44, nasdaq down 18. and plunging new home sales have actually hit a record low. according to the commerce department, fewer people bought new homes in december which makes 2011 the worst sales year on record dating back to 1963. new home sales nationwide fell last month to a seasonally adjusted pace of 307,000. that's less than half of the 700,000 economists equate with a healthy housing market. one of the most famous tourist spots in san francisco will receive a face lift. the chronicle reports that jefferson street in fisherman's wharf will turn into a pedestrian-friendly promenade there will be a wider sidewalk and front room. the idea is to keep tourists interested and shopping in the

area. the $5 million project is being done quickly in advance of next year's america's cup. tonight, at 5:00, one man locked in a battle with a bay area airport. the proof he says he has shah shows commercial pilots are breaking in the rules and flying where they should not be flying. thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news. we'll see you the next time news breaks. we are always here for you on ktvu.com and mobilektvu.com. thanks for watching.