lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news". >> eric: if your school wants to take part in this contest. a link at abc7news.com. look under see it on tv. >> don't go away, "7 on your side" is next. >> pg&e says, pay up by may 1st or allow a smartmeter in your home. i'm michael finney and "7 on your side" is coming up. [ beep ] [ man ] you have one new message. [ mom ] hi scooter. this is mommy. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. the vegetables are cut nice and thick... you were always good at cutting your vegetables. and it's got tender white-meat chicken... the way i always made it for you. oh, one more thing honey... those pj's you like, the ones with the feet, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >> eric: after years of controversy there is a way to avoid having pg&e install a smartmeter at your home but it's going to cost you. if you don't hurry they will install one anyway. how opt out fees have stirred up a protest. >> there were months of protests. >> please don't allo

lyanne melendez caught up with them in richmond. >> reporter: the goal was to march 23 miles from richmondts as they made their way through busy san pablo avenue. >> we have food and medical supplies. other than that we have stop points for communities that have been gracious enough to house us and feed us. >> there are communities centers along the way. it's about 40 students begin the march in oakland on thursday afternoon. along the way they drew attention to themselves and to the plight of public education. >> our government tuition is going up we are paying more for our public education. >> in pinole they stopped to rest and eat. faculty members from cal. >> we wanted to join the march. >> reporter: for people like her public universities in california should not have any more budget cuts. >> we are losing faculty and the administration is fighting to keep people but people would rather stay in the system, but their financial situation is so precarious. >> reporter: once they arrive in sacramento they will meet up with other students and advocates of public education, but they say mon

in the newsroom, lyanne melendez, abc7 news. >> if your school wants to participate, we can show youhow. there's a link. it's on abc7news.com. look for it under "see it on tv" don't go away. 7 on your side is next. >> pg&e says pay up by may 1st or allow a smartmeter in your >> good morning. after years of controversy there's ways to avoid having pg&e install a smartmeter in your home. if you don't hurry, they will install one earlier. we have the details on opt-out fees and the new protests. >> pull that plug, pull that plug! >> there were months of protests and hearings. even arrests. and finally the concession. thousands of pacific gas and electric customers who don't want wireless smartmeters now can opt out of having one installed at their home. >> yes, i want to opt out. yes. thank you! you heard me! >> these folks were elated. but now she and many others are finding out they have to start paying a monthly charge if they want to keep smartmeters off their property. >> it's just sort of like a penalty fee. >> pg&e is charging $75 up front, plus ten dollars per month for customer

. >>> up next at 6:30, lyanne melendez talks to a man hit by a car while dozens of witnesses and policeked on. so why no charges? >> i'm nannette miranda in sacramento. fewer classes are offered. california's public universities are actually on a construction spending spree. some critics say that's not fair. ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? >> welcome back. four months after a man was hit by a car during a occupy protest in oakland, the driver has not been charged. now the person's lawyer is pushing police to act. we have the latest. >> reporter: on november 2nd the cell phone video caught lance labador trying to cross the street during a peaceful demonstration. the man behind him inched forward

lyanne melendez, abc7 news. >> i was layingening to that story and it remind me, when i was going tony years ago it was 212 bucks a quarter. >> when was that, 19 -- >> thank you for saying nineteen. the 1970s. >> wow, that's crazy. >> yeah, it was crazy. more than crazy since then. what's going on? good days for a march we were mentioning. >> yeah, some 70s. today more widespread 70 #* 70s, and tomorrow, too. look at this. i've been tweeting up a storm sharing the photos. if you sleep through did you don't know how beautiful the sunrise it. officially two minutes the sun comes up. more clear skies, more warm days, chilly nights, and what about the rain? take a look. well, come back and i'll show you my seven-day outlook. >> i just tweeted a picture of you, lisa. >> a tweet fest. >> next the story of a one time guitar virtuoso stick bin guy gag's disease. he's refused to give up his lovc >> all of a sudden i'm hearing about a bunch people who paid for their education. they paid less than i did. what's going on weather-wise? >> a gorgeous day today. we saw a nice day yesterday but it w

in the newsroom lyanne melendez, abc7 news. >> if your school wants to participate, we can show you howsy there's ways to avoid having pg&e in still a smartmeter in your home. if you don't hurry, they will install one earlier. we have the details on opt-out fees and the new protest. >> pull that plug, mull paul that plug! >> there were months of protests. and hearings. even arrests. and finally the concession. thousands of pacific gas and electric customers who don't want wireless smartmeters now can opt out of having one installed at their home. >> yes i want to opt out. yes! thank you! you heard me. >> these folks were elated. but now she and many others are finding out they have to startpying a monthly charge if they want to keep smartmeters off their property. >> it's just sort of like a penalty fee. >> pg&e is charging $75 up front plus ten dollars per month for customers who decline a smartmeter. the utility estimates $150,000.000 may opt out. and some worry the wireless meters have harmful reweaves and can cause utility fees to spike. she said it's wrong to impose a fee not to ge

. >>> up next at 5:30, lyanne melendez talks to a man hit by a consider while dozens of witnesses andence and engineering building athletics center and housing. >> it makes me wonder if they can figure out how to do that why can't they reduce tuition and give more funding to expanding enrollment. >> example state has $161 million in now projects. the." but the funding is complicated. it takes as long as seven years so the projects were in the pipeline before the recession. then the university gets loans selling bonds but the money can only be used for construction not for ongoing expenses like lowering tuition or paying salaries. >> one cannot be used for the other. they are there for very restricted purposes. >> patrick also points out construction costs and interest rates are very low right now and it's the perfect time to undertake multiple projects that provide badly-needed jobs. >> we have over 60% of our buildings that are 30 years or older so we have renovation issues we have seismic issues. >> california watch found though, once some buildings are done, there's no taxpayer mon