news at 6:00 starts now. employees and business owners showed up for work today to find broken glass and stolen merchandise. good evening, i'm julie haener. >> and i'm frank frank. at least four businesses were hit in san jose. police say they all appear to be smash and grabs. at one store, thieves took off with an entire cash register. new at 6:00, ktvu fox 2 news' azenith smith is live at aloha coffee and water. just one of the places there targeted. >> reporter: well frank, the thieves didn't just break into big name stores but you can see the door is now boarded up and owners were greeted with broken glass everywhere this morning. at 6:00 this morning it was the alarm system that alerted the manager something was wrong at this oarily auto parts store.

>> i thought it was just a simple, someone just broke a window or something, but it was breaking and entering. >> reporter: when he got here, he discovered this. thieves used a rock the size of a fist to grab what they could. while they failed to steal a generator worth $800, they made up with other merchandise. >> it shouldn't be ladies like this. you >> reporter: similar break ins occurred at the radio shack across the street. and the president restaurant a few blocks down. all happening in a matter of hours. the owner at the president restaurant tells ktvu fox 2 news thieves stole the entire register full of cash. >> we are worried about our safety. >> this is very disconcerts. this is where we feel safely in our own hometown. >> reporter: this comes as families packed a community

meeting last week concerned about a rash of home burglaries. city officials say they are coming up with ways to combat the up tick in burglaries in san jose given the police staffing shortage. >> i guess not surprised anymore with everything that has been going on. but this hurts. these are good people and it is a unique business. it is not like they are targeting a large corporation. they are targeting people who this is how they live. >> reporter: and we reached out to police. we haven't heard back to see whether or not these cases are related or if they have any suspects information. we did see a commune service officer car patrolling the area. and, we are told at least two of these businesses had surveillance video cameras. but, they were not working. frank? >> all right, azenith smith in san jose tonight. thank you. a school field trip was cut short today when a bus carrying 33 students and three adults became stuck on the side of the

road. it happened at 2:30 this afternoon in marin. sky fox captured these pictures. the driver tried to clear a tight turn along shoreline highway in west marin. no one was hurt. the students from northern lights school in oakland were then removed from that disabled bus and a tow truck was called to the scene. police serving a high risk search warrant opened fire today on a man after they say he pointed a gun at officers. it happened about 8:30 this morning at the san pablo motel on san pablo avenue. they were serving what they call a high risk search warrant at the request of berkeley police. a san pablo police commander said officers surrounded the hotel and as they made contact with the suspects, two officers saw that one of them had a gun. >> one of the subjects got a handgun. pointed it at two officers, at the back of the motel window.

at which time, the officers fired their guns. >> no one was hurt in the shooting. the commander said he didn't believe the suspect actually fired his weapon. he also said that the man and woman who were in the room were taken into custody and are being questioned about two other armed robberies in other cities at this time. they have not actually been arrested. they were taken into custody but they haven't been arrested. >> investigators believe it was a case of mistaken identity that led to the killing of a 21- year-old man from san leandro. the shooting happened two months ago. this is the first time police revealed the victim's identity and why they think he wasn't the intended target. ktvu fox 2 news' allie rasmus talked with investigators today about why they waited so long to release this information. >> reporter: the driveway of the home here behind sus where the shooting happened back in december. at the front of the property, you can see a main house, behind it is a separate inlaw unit. that is where 21-year-old joel

ramirez lived with his mother and grandfather. surrounded by family members, maglalena ramirez spoke about her son an defended his reputation. i knew he was a good boy and i knew him better than anyone else, she said. san leandro police agreed. >> this was a straight laced 21- year-old kid. he graduated and went to college. >> reporter: ramirez was shot in the driveway of his home on the night of december 14. police believe his killer mistaken him for someone else. he lived with his mother and grandmother in the inlaw unit in the back of the home. what the family didn't know is their neighbors were returning a marijuana grow operation in the main house. ramirez was not involved in that crime. they explained why they coulden clarify that now, two months after his murder. >> we knew by releasing joel's name, the killer still at large would know they killed the wrong person and they could come back and look for the person they intended to kill in the first place. >> reporter: now ramirez's

family, friends and long time neighbors are coming together to publicly clear his name and create a memorial scholarship in his honor. that memorial scholarship will be given to a san leandro high school senior this spring. the family city council has set aside $25,000 in reward money for anyone able to provide information leading to an arrest in this case. back to you. >> allie rasmus live tonight in san leandro. thank you. he claimed that a police detective beat him up. however, video taken from inside his jail cell in oregon shows something very different. watch this video of 33-year-old alexander tomesusky. you can see the california man is repeatedly punching himself on both sides of his face. he was being held on several charges including stalking and sexual abecause. he told deputies he was assaulted and wanted to press charges. when they forwarded the case to the sergeant in charge of detectives, the sergeant saw

this video. he was driven an additional 20 days in jail for the false report. a house near santa rosa went up in flames today and the distinctive smell left behind is giving investigators clues. rob roth tells us what detectives found at the scene. >> reporter: the fire broke autoat 10:30 this morning and ultimately destroyed this home on romando drive outside santa rosa in unincorporated sonoma county. a neighbor ran out and shot this video. he said he heard popping noises. >> i heard a couple of explosions. at first i thought maybe they were gunshots. but of course, when i came out, i saw the house on fire. the explosions kept ongoing. there would be one sporadically here and there. >> reporter: three people lived here. a couple and their toddler. they were not hurt, but three of their cats were killed and another is missing.

>> it seemed to spread quite rapidly. from the time the fire was first seen to the time crews got on the scene. >> reporter: once the fire was out, there was a strong smell in the air. the unmistakable smell of marijuana. the man who lived in the house was detained in the back of a sheriff's department man more than an hour. he was later taken away in an ambulance. this afternoon, detectives from the sonoma county sheriff's department carried out boxes of potential evidence. the cause of the fire is under investigation. but sources say they saw evidence of a possible hash oil manufacturing operation including a lot of marijuana leads in what appears to be butane canisters which are highly flammable and could explain the explosions. fire officials say they haven't determined whether or not there was a drug lab here. >> the explosions were heard. that doesn't mean that is exactly what happened. so we will be looking at that. >> reporter: neighbors say the family who lived in the house were renters who had been there less than a year.

near santa rosa, rob roth, ktvu fox 2 news. january was a slow month for people looking to buy homes in condos. in fact, a research firm says california home sales dropped to their lowest level seen in january in seven years in the san francisco bay area. core logic data quick says sales were down 40% from december. and down more than 5% from last january. the research firm did say that the median price for a home in california of $376,000 was above what it was in january 2014. a so-called super bug has infected seven people who had a common procedure done at a southern california hospital. patients may have been infected during endoscopic procedures between october and january. they may have been exposed by contaminated medical instruments. the ucla outbreak may have

contributed to two deaths. parents and students are protesting against san francisco's archbishop right now. this is a live picture from outside saint mary's cathedral in san francisco. they are protesting against a morality clause that archbishop added for schoolteachers at four catholic schools n. the clause, the church says teachers can only contribute to an atmosphere of holiness and virtue if they adhere to catholic teachings inside and outside the classroom. specifically, citing opposition to homosexuality, abortion, and birth control. we are told 250 people are there right now. jobs are being posted. could it have something to do with the next release from apple? coming up, what the new creation could do. new at 6:00, how history and new technology are teaming up to compete for business against uber and lyft. >> and i'm still tracking that warmup. temperatures came up today.

more sunshine, more sunshine the next couple of days. we will be looking for some rain. see you after the break. >> time to see the wednesday night commute. here is highway 24 in the east bay. the headlights you see are drivers headed east toward walnut creek. back with more in a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪

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>> look at these two massive flares coming out of a smokestack in a refinery in los angeles county. there was an explosion in torranc that injured four workers. a flare system was activated to burn off fuel. it set off these large flames and thick black smoke. witnesses sawdust and ash falling from the sky. residents were told to stay indoors with the windows an

doors shut and the schools sheltered in place. 10% of california's gas comes from that plant and some consumer watchdog groups are concerned they may use this as an excuse to manipulate prices. gas prices are up about a quartier from last month. consumer watchdog blaming it on refinery shut-downs including the one in martinez where workers walked off the job and then today's explosion in torrance. some are predicting a 10-cent spike over night. prices could rise as much as 50 cents a gallon. as west coast ports sit idle and negotiations can't with the secretary of labor, businesses are suffering big losses. if west coast shuts down completely for ten days, it

could cost $2 billion a year. a company called angel dear is waiting for four companies with $2 million worth offeredly spring toddler apparel. >> usually this would hit the stores by january 15. now we are looking at the end of february into march before the retailers can take it. >> the ongoing port labor dispute is causing issues for many bises along with the clothing manufacturers. produce experts are also facing serious delays. a major mackover for a bay area taxi company aims to make it more competitive with ride sharing services like uber and lyft. de soto cab in san francisco unveiled a whole new look and name. new at 6:00, david stevenson explains how the taxi service hopes rebrainedding itself will mean more fares for itself drivers. >> reporter: it is a splashy new rebranding. of one of san francisco's oldest cab companies.

>> let me tell you, i was very, very worried about the idea of giving up such an iconic brand. >> reporter: de soto cab dates back to 1933. it is now turning red and being renamed after taxi hailing app fly wheel. a redwood city based company letting customers hail, track, and pay for a cab through their cell phone. >> we want to lift the whole taxi industries this helps to get the message across. >> reporter: the app has been around since 2009 and is already in 85% of san francisco cabs but more recent offerings from uber, lyft, and side car have hit the taxi industry hard. >> if we are going to be competitive, we have to make sure the public understands that we have these technologies. >> just trying to get the other drivers to realize we have a market. >> reporter: they are embracing the change. >> it looks better. it is really beautiful.

people can spot it far away and i like it. >> reporter: fly wheel will exfect a big increase in app downloads when 250 de soto vehicles are repainted and branded. david stevenson, ktvu fox 2 news. well, apple appears to be making the move into virtual reality. they have obtained a patent for this iphone compatible headset. it is for head mounted display that would allow the user to fit an iphone inside of it. users can then view content on their phone with that headset. >> also, there is more possible evidence apple has posted job openings that focus on virtual reality. peaking curiosity about their strategy. but they have not released any official announcements about the development. >> i'm curious about our weather. it was a nice day around the bay. let's see if we will continue that way toward the weekend. >> it is going to continue that way. yesterday was set to gloomy, cloudy. today the sun came out.

much warmer daytime highs. and to go back a little bit, you know the rain we got february, we have not seen any since, but look at the few storms we have had this year and what they have done. we are still at 99% of average in san francisco despite a mostly dry february. we had early rain, but 121% in san jose. it speaks to how powerful and how wet those initial systems were in december. and in february. it would be nice to see more, but right now, we are still in the holding pattern with the fog being dominant. when you see fog like that, you know you have a stable environment. rain is typically not in the offering. the forecast tomorrow will be like today, but slightly warmer. as we look at the high pressure set up, it is going to give us highs back into the 60s . that fog comes back tomorrow. fog in the valley. fog around the bay. then on the weekend, late friday in the weekend, the system slides to the east of us and kicks up the winds. that will blow the fog up for sure, clean up the air quality

as well. but create on the weekend gusty winds. down in the valley. north and northeast winds down toward woodland and davis and vacaville and fairfield. there is the fog footprint for the morning. there is a lot. this is how it looked the last two mornings. the model picked it up. this is what it looked like at 7:00 a.m. that is how lit look again tomorrow. forecast highs tomorrow, then, some 70s will pop up. those are yellow. san jose looks like a nice day. 68 degrees for a daytime high. cloudy until about lunchtime. 11:00. 10:30. something like that. and as we head into the other parts of the east bay, it will burn off by 11:00. 67 in brentwood. these are the forecast highs then for your bay area thursday. 68 in san jose. and 69 in morgan hill. the five day forecast with the bay area weekend in view. it is a dry one. but it is amazing when you look

at the averages. frank and julia and i were talking. about how few storms we have had, how it seems like these big stretches of warmth and record heat, and we are still at 100% of rainfall average. they were pretty impressive. >> that is a good thing. >> yeah, we need hopefully, we will get some in there. >> i'm sure we got a shot at it. >> you said march is actually a good chance. it can be a productive month? >> yeah, we had some good marges. >> let us hope so. all right, getting ready for opening day. it is actually not that far off. today t giants reported to camp in arizona to begin work on defending their world championship. we mr. have a live report coming up in sports. >> and it is time to check in with gasia mikaelian live in the news room with a look at what we are working on at ktvu fox 2 news news at 7:00. >> coming up at 7:00 for you, more on close calls for bay area school children. you will see how their bus nearly plunked off a cliff. always, the latest odd couple in the world of entertainment.

how kanye west and taylor swift game friends.

>> performers for the outdoor san jose sharks game at levi

stadium where announced today. chris allen is set to perform the national anthem accompanied by symphony silicon valley. >> and the founder for credence clear water, set to perform in the first intermission and grammy award winning singer melissa etheridge will perform in the second intermission. >> the kings take on the sharks. >> that will be fun. >> are you going? >> i am working. so that others can go. i'm sacrifices. >> we want to hear about spring training. >> a lot of baseball fans. the giants get top billing today. our joe fonzi was in arizona and has this report.

>> the reporting of pitchers and catchers is the traditional start of spring training. that did happened the pitchers and catchers doing some conditioning, also doing physicals, checking out their equipment, but what they found out is when they got here, there were a whole bunch of position players already here taking batting practice and ready to go. you know, when you go in the clubhouse, you get a real feel for the hierarchy inside the clubhouse. you can see who is who by where the lockers are and the numbers. the low numbers are the starting guys. if you are a high number, you are a long shot to make the team. what we saw was a five projected starting pitchers. everybody knows madison bumgarner will be there. matt cain coming off injuries. tim hudson and jake peavy. tim lincecum is also in the group. >> i have a little more confidence because of the work

i put in. it is feel i'm deserving of the rewards you can reap from doing the right kind of work. >> reporter: most proathletes are also fans. lincecum is a native of washington it is and still a little in shock about how the superbowl ended. >> i was in utter shock. i didn't say anything. i put my hands to my head. was that a joke? a commercial? it was hard to watch. but it was such a good football game up until that point. that you were drawn in. you were enjoying it. >> reporter: a nice little chat with lincecum. if you think of what he has accomplished here in san francisco. people have taken him to their hearts. two cy young awards. a couple of no-hitters and i think every giant fan hoping he does well this year. more tonight at 10:00. we will be at the as tomorrow.

until then, reporting live, joe fonzi, ktvu fox 2 news. mark? >> thanks a lot joe. look forward to hearing your reports from the as camp tomorrow. equal time. very important around here. >> mark, thank you. coming up tonight at 10:00, untraceable guns being used in crimes with no way to track them. 2 investigates uncovers how these weapons are ends up in the wrong hands and why making one is not against the law. this story and much more coming up at 10:00. >> and we are also here for you on ktvu.com, facebook, twitter, thank you very much for joining us. we will see you later. >> goodnight.

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now, who's ready to watch some basketball? why am i looking at you? i don't know. unlike you i don't need a reason to watch a bunch of guys run around in shorts. don't ruin this for me like you did with olympic diving. cam? recording it. mitch and i are taking alex and manny to an art exhibit. but, of course everybody is welcome to join. it's a retrospective on postwar abstract expressionism. wait. for school? no, for life. oh, thank god. i don't even know who we fought in the postwar. told you one car was enough. looks like it's just the two amigos. haley? oh, sorry to brunch and bail grandpa, but i've got a date. uh, with whom? a gorgeous guy i met at school. ooh, goes there or cleans there? mom. answer the question. so everyone's leaving? no, i'm -- i'm not. i wish i had known this before i served the good bacon. you