. >>> richmond city leaders say the lawsuit they filed against chevron today is about accountability. the city of richmond blamed chevron for negligence in the 2012 refinery explosion that blanketed much of the east bay with a dark cloud of toxic smoke. richmond claims the refinery willfully disregarded public safety as a matter of comp corporate policy. >> the decisions we believe created and set up what happened on august 6th of 2012 are decisions that are made in board rooms, and those decisions deal with how much money are you gonna budget for safety. >> chevron says the lawsuit is intended to, quote, divert attention away from a dysfunctional city council. chevron gave more than a million dollars to richmond city council candidates' campaigns during the last election cycle. >>> heavy duty bath for a bunch of bay bridge bolts. about two dozen rods from the new eastern span are undergoing rigorous testing. they are getting soaked in salt water for about three weeks to simulate years of corrosion from weather and fog. it's the final test to make sure all remaining rods are sound. yo

we are live at richmond city hall where a demonstration is scheduled for tonight. laura? >> that is right. a event here at city hall at 6:00 tonight now, this included health issues related to the fire, maybe a drop inappropriate values here. the good there are now new safeguards for the community that didn't exist before this day last year. one year ago this massive fire sent a giant plume of smoke into the atmosphere. forcing residents to shelter in homes for hours. thousands of residents in the path rushed to area hospitals. spending days and weeks afterwards filing claims against chevron. >> 15,000 people felt they had to report to the hospital. as a result from inhaling chemicals that are as yet unidentified. >> and la, -- saturday, 200 people were arrested at a protest. monday, chevron settled a criminal case with contra costa county. one requiring them to pay out $2 million in fines and restitution. >> we hope that it will bode for a safer and better refinery. >> last week the city filed a civil suit asking chevron to reimburse it for costs related to the fire like

the gift card went quickly at the collection site at richmond city hall. people were lined up hours before the event even began. >> many crimes committed on the streets of richmond, are committed by stolen guns. so, if we take the opportunity to get the guns out of your residence, you're less vulnerable to somebody breaking in your house and stealing your gun. >> collection centers were set up in antioch and concord. >> the nfl began its new bag policy this weekend at the hall of fame induction and game in ohio. the nfl i tightening security in the wake of the boston marathon bombing. fans cannot bring backpacks or large bags into the stadium. the only bags permitted are clear, plastic, and vinyl, and no bigger than 12-by-6-by-12. >> a tradition in spain is comes to the u.s. the great bull run will be held in self cities and is inspired by the running of the bulls in pamplona sprain. organizers of the u.s. event say the one here will be different with more safety features. the first event is august 24th august 24th at a drag racing strip near richmond, vir

the city of richmond will win the suit. i hope chevron will be responsible. do you see my t-shirt? >> the smoke from last year's fire sent 15,000 people to hospitals for treatment. today's rally comes one day after richmond city leaders and their attorneys filed litigation against chevron in connection with the fire. >>> an investigation is underway to find out what started a fire in east oakland that left an elderly man seriously injured. crews were call to the home about 3:00 this morning. firefighters rescued the man from the burning home and he was taken to the hospital. crews got it under control about a half-hour later. there were no other injuries. >>> police are looking for a man they say shot three people in san francisco's bay view district. they are also searching for his getaway driver. the shooting happened about 1:30 on palou avenue. the victims drove themselves to the hospital. the hospital has not released the condition of any of the victims. police are for the person who shot a security guard at a popular nightclub. it happened about 3:30 in the city's tenner loin.

citizens take to the street k-p-i-x 5's patrick sedillos there. . >>> richmond city council prepares to take to the court as protesters take to the street. >> they were arrested today after marching from the station to the refinery. they are marking one year since the fire there sent more than 10,000 people to area hospitals. >> this is for my children and grandchildren. >> more than 1,000 people attended the protest, demanded they stop refining the oil and transition from fossil fuel to clean energy. the oldest arrested, 90-year- old elen small. her grandson was taken into custody. >> she was about to be arrested and she said join us. >> we have to change the way we do business on this planet and look after people, not profits. >> chevron released a statement and says they are committed to collaborating with the community and as well as state and local officials to continuously improve the safety and reliability of our operations. we are committed to making sure something like the august incident does not happen again. nurse christy represented 300 other nurses from the cal

. >> this is the city of richmond unanimously standing up and saying we require you, chevron, to be accountable to us. >> reporter: the richmond mayor says it's time for chevron to make good for last year's refinery fire. she says the city will file a lawsuit against chevron tomorrow. >> this incident sent 15,000 people to local hospitals for respiratory ailments and conditions and such. and we, we saw a whole, a real near miss for deaths, and, you know, 19 workers just barely escaped a situation, a fatal situation. >> a lot of people believe that the stigma from that fire played a role in the drop in richmond property values. >> reporter: city councilman tom butts says it cost the city millions in revenues, but it's more than about money. >> it's important that chevron has taken the lessons to heart and that they have changed their safety culture to heart. >> reporter: chevron says they haven't seen the lawsuit so can't comment on its merits but they say we believe the we did significance to pursue such a suit is a waste of the city's resources and yet another example of its failed leadership.

. >> we have breaking news from richmond, city council member has died. he was in a medical coma after he was hospitalized for a severe bacteria sinus infection. he won a seat on the city council but never sworn in because of the illness. he passed away around 1:00 o'clock a.m. at 54 years old. >> turning thousand to the threat of a bart strike we are going to know in hours whether a 72 hour street notice will be issued that could come tonight if progress isn't made on the contract nexts. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield joins us from oakland where the talks will resume in the hour. amy? >> negotiations are continuing but the tone seems to be changing, the unions today rather than talking specifics like wages, are talking about a bigger picture, saying that this is all about busting up the unions. the transit union is wrapping up a press conference right now and they brought in transit officials from arizona and massachusetts to talk about bart's chief negotiator claiming that he is just here to say "no," not to negotiate. a bart spokesman calls this a d

. >>> new at noon, richmond, the city, is suing chevron over the refinery fire. the mayor just wrapped up a news conference about the lawsuit and the fire's impact on that city. ktvu sea brian flores was there and joins us live. good afternoon, brian. >> reporter: good afternoon. well well, the city of richmond filed this 40-page plant complaint in county -- in contra contra costa -- in contra costa -- in contra costa court. they say they hope that this goes in front of a jury where they will decide how much chevron may pay. they claim chevron was negligent on 12 different occasions in front of the explosion and it could have been prevented. now, during a press conference that just ended minutes ago, the mayor and the city's hired attorneys representing them spoke on the issue. >> we don't want to see another toxic plum traveling across -- plume traveling across richmond and the bay area. we don't want to see people lined up to get help as a result of their injuries again or to have children experience the trauma and impact of such an incident again. >> the real

believes it's time a lawsuit was failed against chevron. >> chevron owes the people of richmond as well as the city of richmond literally hundreds of millions of dollars. based on the damage they have done to our community over time not just august circumstances 2012 toxic explosion and fire. >> lawsuit ask for damages for the clean up and emergency response. swelts impact the fire had on property value and on the environment. chevron responded to inquirey with this statement. we can not comment on the merritt of lawsuit we have not yet seen but we believe the sdoytion pursue such a suit is a waste of the city resource in yet another example of the failed leadership. vick lee, 7 news. >> jury found former elementary school teacher guilty of sexually assaulting students who were just 7 and 8 years ol old. 36-year-old craig chandler convicted of 5 counts of lewd lascivious act under child of 14. pros cawtors say she was molested in the classroom at this school in san jose. the student said chandler ballooned folded them and forced them to perform secretarial act. >> children made victims 50 duplicity

and as the richmond city council prepares to take chevron to court. today citizen took to the streets -- citizens took to the streets. as kpix 5's patrick sedillo shows us, richmond nurses, environmental labor and community groups came together to tell chevron to clean up its act. >> reporter: one by one, protestors were arrested today after marching from the richmond b.a.r.t. station to the chevron refinery. they are marking one year since the devastating fire there sent more than 10,000 people to area hospitals. >> i don't know. sometimes this stuff happens in american history. >> this is for my children and my grandchildren. >> reporter: more than 1,000 people attended the protests. demanding that chevron stop refining fracked crude oil and transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. the oldest arrested? 90-year-old ellen small. >> she was asked earlier what message she had for people. she said join us. >> we're here today to say we have to change the way we do business on the planet. we have to look after people not profits. >> reporter: chevron

that comment came on friday after the city of richmond sued chevron.ore than 2,000 people marched on that refinery in protest of what chevron did there a year ago. police say it was largely a peaceful and organized protest, but more than 200 people were ultimately arrested on trespassing charges. they had planned to be arrested, and they were. today chevron settled the criminal charges that were related to that refinery explosion. they agreed to pay roughly $2 million in fines and restitution. should be noted that represents a little more than 3% of daily profit for the chevron corporation. but because the city of richmond is taking action on its own behalf, that may not be the end of it. that 3% of one day's profit may not be the bottom line for chevron. the mayor of richmond was one of the protesters at the refinery this weekend. let me explain why chevron has been busy insulting and deriding the city that has this refinery of its in public. who knows how this is going to turn out? both sides seem to be fully digging in at this point and pledging to

apartment to catch all that editor at mashable thank you so much for joining us my pleasure when the city of richmond california is going head to head with big banks to deal with foreclosure the city is trying to force lenders and investors to sell underwater mortgages at a discounted price using eminent domain now the federal housing finance agency is threatening to limit restrict or even quit mortgage lending to any city that follows richmond suit our correspondent erin eight explains. lawsuit filed in san francisco federal court by three mortgage bond trustees will prove to be a litmus test for the success or failure of a new scheme involving eminent domain now traditionally the power of eminent domain has been exercised when a state or city seizes private property without the owner's consent historically the most common uses of property taken v.m. and demand our highways railroads and other public facilities however the city of richmond california has crafted an interesting strategy for one point eminent domain richmond is a working class suburb of around one hundred thousand people on the san fr

. >>> the city of richmond is planning to file a lawsuit against chevron over the fire last year. the city will file tomorrow morning in contra costa county superior court. the fire did harm to the community, although the mayor doesn't say what the harm was. he plans to hold a news conference tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. >>> goodwill is contained. they tented off an area inside the building. at the other warehouse a dog found no trace of the bugs yesterday. bedbugs haven't been detected at any stores but still shoppers are service. >> oh, sure. you have to think twice. you could take home an infestation. >> they say they threw away 15 dumpsters of donated goods. they are asking for monetary donations to help out. >>> crews with vector control will fog for mosquitos in san jose tonight to try to stop the spread of west nile. the area boardered by 6 eighty -- bordered by 680. it begins at 11:00 p.m. tonight. this is the third time this year they fogged fogged fogged for mosquitos. 35 birds and 15 mosquitos tested positive so far this summer. west nile is also causing concern in con

phoenix today to talk about housing, i want to turn now to how richmond, california is tackling its foreclosure crisis. all must have for the city'sidential mortgage holders are underwater. last week richmond became the first in the country to offer the purchase mortgages of distressed homeowners from wall street banks and other lenders. under a plan approved by the city council in april, richmond can also use its eminent domain authority to purchase loans in order to modify them and allow families to avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. other cities are dancing similar bills like newark, new jersey and here in new york city. richmond mayor gayle mclaughlin remains with us now from berkeley, california to discuss this new way of addressing the foreclosure crisis. lay it out for us, mayor mclaughlin. >> yes, of course. first of all, the housing crisis in richmond is not over -- far so, from being over. 900 closures last year and just as many in the pipeline this year. is somethingtion we feel and the city of richmond we have to address. it is destabilizing our families and neighborhoods. it has caused a huge impact of the cit

chevron earned $241 billion a year and richmond wants a piece of that pie. the city feels chevron needs to be accountable after last year's refinery fire. nbc's jodi hernandez has the details and joins us from richmond. >> reporter: this is the lawsuit that the city is filing. they call it a prime example of the corporation putting profit before public safety. but chevron is calling the allegations baseless and the city council dysfunctional. >> it is official. >> reporter: our cameras were rolling as lawyers representing the city of richmond filed a lawsuit against chevron, with the contra costa county superior court this morning over last year's refinery fire that spent a massive plume of smoke into the air and thousands to the hospital. >> we, per the instructions of the city council have filed the complaint against chevron. >> reporter: the 39-page complaint says the fire was not a freak accident but the result of chevron's conscious disregard for public safety. they say chevron knew about the dangerous condition of the pipes that ruptured but did nothing to fix

leaders say it cost richmond millions in emergency response and caused property values to plummet. if mayor says the city has an obligation to take legal action. >> we want to make it clear that we the people of richmond and the city council as a whole y unanimously are making sure chevron is held accountable for the harm they have done to us as a city and community. >> chevron says the city's decision to pursue a lawsuit is a waste of resources. >> it's a music video gone viral. the california band is being accused of releasing one of the most racist songs in recent memory, titled "asian girls." now the band is losing business. stephanie troung joins us now. >> reporter: we're talking about an asian woman dancing around in skimpy clothes as five guys in a band sing about asian girls and use the phrase slanted eyes. the lead singer said they never intended it to be sexist or racist, but some are saying apologies are too little too late. ♪ >> reporter: the song kicks off with a chinese melody before the band is revealed and the lyrics begin. the latest single "asian girls" has gotten attention from across

when this fire at the shef roven refinery pumped toxic black smoke into east bay skies as the richmond city council prepares to take chevron to court, today citizens took to the streets as kpix 5 shows us, richmond nurses, environmental labor and community groups came together to tell chevron to clean up its act. >> one by station to the chevron refinery. they are marking one year since the devastating fire there sent more than 10,000 people to area hospitals. >> i don't know. sometimes it has to happen in american history. >> this is for my children and my grandchildren. >> more than a thousand people attend it had protest demanding shef roven stop refining and transition to clean energy. the oldest arrests, 90-year-old ellen small. her grandson was also taken in cuffs. >> she was asked earlier what message she had for people that she was about to be ayersed. she said join us. >> we have to change the way we do business on this planet. we have to look at people, not profits. >> chevron released a statement to kpix saying in part we're committed to collaborating with our community as well a

against chevron are plainly intended to divert attention away from a dysfunctional city council. >> reporter: but what is richmond's responsibility to make sure the refinery is safe? none. since the city is not involved in board room decisions according to lawsuit attorney. >> so the responsibility here and what this lawsuit is all about is holding the correct people responsible and accountable for decisions they make and the city of richmond can't make those decisions. so that's the purpose of this lawsuit. that's what accountability is. >> reporter: mayor mclaughlin blames predecessors for failing to get tough with chevron and promises a new start. >> we are saying right now that we are expecting the highest of standards of safety and that's the first step that we are at here today. >> reporter: investigations have shown huge gaps in the regulations that cover the petroleum industry and the mayor says that's why they had to go to court in order to take care of the safety of richmond residents. live in richmond, don knapp, kpix 5. >> in january cal-osha fined chevron almost a million dollars, the maximum legally a

safer refinery. >> tom is on the richmond city council. st week the city filed its own civil suit. asking chevron to rae im burst it for cost related to the fire like emergency respoychbilitys it includes the devaluation of property in the city of richmond by about 1.8 billion dollars last year. and the tax assessor has told us that the at least 1 billion of that is directly result of the refinery fire. >> for its part she have respect claims the reimburse those affected and take a series of steps to make sure nothing like this happens agai again. that include paying 10 millions dollars to local hospital and individual with fire related health problem. repairing im proving the unit and replacing thousands of pipe component and installing air monitoring system. in richmon richmond, 7 news. >> fed up neighbors in oakland helping police nab some big time litter bug. look. every day folk take pictures like this showing illegal dumping going on. oak licensed city attorney provided abc 7 news with these images. new city effort now using photo lak

>> so far richmond has sent letters, about 644 homes, but the actual number of homes in the city that are underwater is several thousand. many of those homes are backed by fannie and freddie. government-backed loans richmond would not go after. only those held in private labeled mortgage backed securities. a small subset of all loans. >> carolyn, thank you. interesting and novel and controversial concept that will be closely watched. >>> this week two strikes by public transit workers were narrowly averted while a b.a.r.t. strike next week is still possible. this sparked pointed conversations about the role of unions in today's economy. have they lost touch with reality or still needed to protect decent wages for the middle class? josh, there were more meetings regarding b.a.r.t. today. what happened? will there be a strike? >> the most important thing that happened is, no. there probably will not about strike on monday. that's not because of anything that came out of the negotiations today. it's because governor jerry brown received the report that he requested from a special panel h

postal officials say they plan to lease back part of the building for continued use. >>> the city of richmond is mourning a former city council man. >> gary bell passed away this morning, nearly nine months after suffering a severe bacterial sinus infection that led to multiple brain surgerys. >> he won reelection but was hospitalized. >> he's survived by his wife and two adult children. >> bell was 54 years old. >>> the man convicted of holding three women captive for more than a decade in his cleveland home learned today he'll spend the rest of his life in prison. >> as garrett tenny reports, one of his victims made an emotional courtroom speech condemning her abuser. >>> before a packed courtroom, one of the three women victimized by aerial castro had her moment of revenge as her chapter was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years. >> despite agreeing to a plea that'll keep him behind bars for the rest of his life but will spare the death penalty, he still made a defense when he made a statement to the court. >> but castro was painted as a monster not only by the women but a strong of authoriti

city. properties that richmond now owns thanks to eminent domain. he city is threatening a full sale if they exist. they help by allowing the city to forcibly buy mortgages at a price below the property's current market value. it would result in a lower mortgage payment for the homeowner. the lawsuit filed against richmond serves as a key test for if other cities can move forward with the same strategy. these have teamed up with the financial farm assisting richmond, but none of been brazen so far. units of deutsche bank and fannie and freddie mac filed a lawsuit altogether. their lawsuit alleges the loans are not beingnow robert is a cow professor that advocates using eminent domain in this way. he says interstate commerce isn't burdened because it does not prevent credit from flowing in any particular way. opponents point out that the specific loans richmond wants to buy, more than two thirds of them are current on their payments. the trusts that are not under would significantly damage the value of those investments. much the way sovereign debt de

richmond with more. jodi? >> reporter: well, it's official, attorneys representing the city of richmond filed this lawsuit against chevron this morning saying this case is a prime example of a corporation putting profits before public safety. now, we were there this morning as attorneys filed the 39-page complaint with the contra costa county superior court. that complaint alleges that chevron had knowledge of the dangerous condition of the pipe that caused last year's refinery fire, yet never bothered to fix it. now, it points out that chevron's richmond refinery has had 14 separate incidents in which toxins were released into the air since 1989. the suit says the city and the people of richmond have suffered tremendous harm from the fire and its aftermath and lawyers say it is time for chevron to be held accountable. >> to have this played out in a courtroom, publicly, so that everybody can see with their own eyes who made what decision and when. and more importantly, why wasn't this pipe replaced? >> reporter: now, chevron has issued a statement saying -- the mayor tells me she believes constituent has an obli

richmond would be the first city in the nation to take on local principal reduction. --- we want to show you a special report on child safety. a tv crew shows us how much effort it took -to lure children away from their parents at a park. all using one of the oldest tricks in the book -- a dog. they approached 20 children over four days -- and while many did the right thing, some did not. kira phillips has the stunning story. >> reporter: it was so easy! >> what did he look like to you? >> a nice man that had a dog. >> and what would doo-doo do next time that you do not know? >> i would tell my mom. >> for these the conversation about creditors is just starting. however, for another, she could not even talk about it. it was so devastating about you are about to see she passe in some f the identity. >> i have a tory. and we have to get a good grip. a warning from the mother was forgotten! >> take a look to this child was vulnerable to deception. if i was a real sex predator. experts say it's important to teach your children that bad people don't necessarily look mean -

richmond. thousands gathered to commemorate the first refinery fire. and the city of richmond recently announced plans to sue the oil giant for damages from the fire. kron 4's alecia reid was there and has the details. chevron responded to the protest with the following statement: >>""chevron respects the rights of individuals to express their viewpoints in a nonviolent manner."" still ahead on the kron four morning news, a driver let's loose on the roadway-- driving up on a sidewalk, injuring dozens. details coming up. will be back after the break look at 'em. living on cloud nine with that u-verse wireless receiver. you see in my day, when my mom was repainting the house, you couldn't just set up a tv in the basement. i mean, come on! nope. we could only watch tv in the rooms that had a tv outlet. yeah if we wanted to watch tv someplace else, we'd have to go to my aunt sally's. have you ever sat on a plastic covered couch? [ kids cheering ] you're missing a good game over here. [ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a mont

. >>> the city of richmond is filing a lawsuit against chevron over last year's massive refinery fire. richmond city leaders say the fire had a huge impact on the community, not only the smoke from the fire sent 15,000 people to the hospital. city leaders say it cost richmond millions of dollars in emergency response and caused property values to plummet. chevron releasing a statement saying, quote, we cannot comment on the merits of a lawsuit that we have not yet seen, but we believe the decision to pursue such a suit is a waste of the city's resources and yet another example of its failed leadership. >>> the time is 5:08 in the a.m. janelle wang, how are you feeling this morning? >> i feel great. you guys have good energy. >> grooves right in like it's nothing. christina loren, pretty impressive. >> that's right. bringing in the big gun this is morning. i'll not kidding shechlt works out. 55 degrees in livermore, 55 in san jose, 49 in gilroy. it's friday. we made it this far. maybe it was a long week for you. the good news is, if you've been enjoying the weather. mosh of the same as

your home is my home for the city of richmond california is saying to homeowners an effort to help those with underwater mortgages the city is using eminent domain to seize homes with homeowner consent then sell the home back to them at a lower price but as usual all such well intended efforts have unintended consequences and those consequences are being expressed and escaping lawsuits by those who ended up owning the securitized mortgage bond that would include the pension funds which are now facing losses if the suit fails and several other cities are considering a similar eminent domain scheme so the ultimate risk is banks will be less willing to grant loans that the government simply imposes losses m.d.s. investors will be less likely to buy than even freddie paper and mortgage rates will needlessly rise. and apple's on a roll after winning a presidential intervention against samsung recently a federal appeals court just ruled in their favor and a dispute with minor. ironically while the samsung suit would have prevented apple from importing and products the motorola suit might have

. >> chevron slapped with a lawsuit by the city it calls home. what richmond says refinery operators were doing when they should have been protecting the community. >> and perhaps you have a night out on the town tonight. if you are heading to the city of san francisco, here's what it looks like right now. it is cool and brisk with winds up to 20. we'll have your weekend pinpoint forecast coming up. >> and it's the hot new -- jin hua wu walked into the "si-port" tech company five ye .. >>> it was a workplace shooting that stunned silicon valley. he walked into the siport tech company five years ago and opened fire. the test engineer had been fired earlier in the day and returned to execute three company executives. today he was sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years. he claimed he didn't remember the shootings and he was the victim of wrongful termination. >>> the city of richmond is now suing chevron for last year's refinery fire. probably remember when this toxic smoke filled the air threatening the health of thousands after an explosion hit the refinery.

now, as detroit finally confronts bankruptcy, the city of richmond, california, is going to extreme measureso avoid a similar outcome. it's a fascinating story. >> it is. the mayor wants to use eminent domain as leverage to force banks -- force banks -- to sell the city's troubled mortgages at a loss. >> if the banks don't agree to a sale, and so far, they are saying they don't have the authority to sell these mortgages, now richmond says it will seize these homes through eminent domain, rewrite the loans with more favorable terms, with the help of financiers they've lined up, to allow residents to stay in their homes. of course, that would continue to mean they could pay property taxes and the like for the city, which is suffering because of all of this. some of the banks are now suing to stop that action, including wells fargo, a bank that the mayor tried to meet with and work out a deem with last week, but she was rebuffed on that. >> joining us now with more is cnbc exclusive is richmond, california, mayor, gayle mclaughlin. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, maria. glad t

a letter to the ceos of wells fargo, bank of america and chase, to ask that they accept the city of richmond's offer to buy underwater loans for the current fair market value. if they refuse, the city has threatened that it will seize the loans through eminent domain to prevent the destruction of neighborhoods. >> this has radically hit communities hard. there's been a lot of abandoned homes and blight and a lot of people have been put out of their homes. >> reporter: other communities have considered this action but all have backed down from the legal challenges threatened by the mortgage lenders. but richmond seems determined to take up the fight. >> if we sit back and do nothing, more and more families are going to lose their homes and the city isn't going to be able to recover. >> reporter: but even the protestors know it's highly unlikely that banks will voluntarily sell their loans for a fraction of what's owed. >> if i could refinance and forgiven on the thing that is upside-down it would be nice. but i know they are not going to do that because they have invested involves in this. >> r

attorneys for the city ofjf richmond say that chevron showed a conscious disregard for public theyfáozay. >>fá we, per the instructions o the city council,8ú÷]jñui filed complaint against chevron. >> reporter: our cameras were city of richmond filed a lawsuit against chevron int( continra c county superior court after last >> the purpose of the lawsuit is to hold them accountable for the harm and economic impact this suffer. >> reporter: the complaint says chevron had knowledge of the dangerous condition of the pipe that caused the fire, yet never bothered to fix it. it also contends the refinery air since 1989. >> after those 14t( incidents, sorry, this won't happen again. the purpose of this lawsuit is vr: chevronÑi calls they issued a statementó[? )> this is them failing us so that our community has to live at risk continuously of incidents like this happening. >> where areçó you supposed to ? where do you go when there's a cloud andt( you're trying to ou run it? >> reporter:

richmond city hall, the contra costa county fair grounds and antioch and the parking lot of the concord pavilion from ten to three this afternoon. >>> oakland will soon unavailable a second downtown plaza that the city hopes will draw people to the area and be a boom for local merchants. this is an artist's rend death. it's located on telegraph avenue between 16th street and broadway, just a block from frank cogala plaza. they report the plaza will host weekly entertainment some local property owners are worried, they fear it will attract homeless people and obstruct traffic. they will have a three week trial run on august 16th. city officials will receive a progress report before i am approving a long-term plan for the area. >>> more shock details are revealed in the caves two lake county men charged with section whale assaulting anden shaving a runaway teenager. the two appeared in court yesterday. they pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include growing and trafficking marijuana. in court records the 15-year-old claims the men kept her inside this metal box that had air holes pu

richmond city hall, the contra costa county fair grounds and antioch and the parking lot of the concord pavilion from ten to three this afternoon. >>> oakland will soon unveil a second downtown plaza that the city hopes will draw people to the area and be a boom for local merchants. this is an artist's rendering. it's located on telegraph avenue between 16th street and broadway, just a block fromwillt weekly entertainment. some local property owners are worried, they fear it will attract homeless people and obstruct traffic. they will have a three week trial run on august 16th. city officials will receive a progress report before approving a long-term plan for the area. >>> more shocking details are revealed in the case of two lake county men charged with sexually assaulting and enslaving a runaway teenager. ryan and patrick appeared in court yesterday. they pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include growing and trafficking marijuana. in court records the 15-year-old girl claims the men kept her inside this metal box that had air holes punched into it. she said they also sometimes

and nearly half of the mortgages in the city of richmond are under water. this clearly destabilizes families, destabilizes neighborhoods, and hurts the city as a whole. the banks sold my community predatory loans and now they have no solution. so the city is stepping in. we're taking these troubled loans off the hands of the banks. and we're paying them fair market value for them. and then we're working with the homeowners to help them refinance and to refinance at the current -- in line with current home values. >> so we're clear about what fair market value means, current value, which means the loss, the haircut, is taken by the bank? >> it's a fair market value as the industry indicates what fair market value is. it's something that, you know, under water means that the current value of the home is way under what the original mortgage was. and we're doing this. we're doing this in partnership with others. we have a private firm, mortgage resolution partners, that is providing the funding and the technical assistance, and we have a community group called a

host: the city of richmond, california. lifornia city let's -- looks to c's and d's home once -- look ease home loans. offering $150,000 to buy a bank loan on a house that is now worth $200,000 and is in danger of foreclosure. the would pay the bank, banks are saying that the house is look -- the house is worth more. guest: it is more than that. many of these loans, the beority of these loans, will ones on which borrowers are current in their payments. borrowers are making their payments, as far as the lender is concerned, there is no loss. host: but the mortgages underwater? first in california and some other states, there is a one action role. if the lender goes against the property and forecloses on the loan, the lender cannot turn around and to see the borrower for deficiency. even if the borrower is not liable for a deficiency in court, there are people who are paying their loans, who have the money, who assume that the parcel may go up in value. they do not want them stating on their credit rating. these loans are perf

say sales have slowed only slightly in the last couple months. >>> wall street is suing the city of richmondook is in our studio to say how the housing crisis is right in the middle of this. >> cities across the country will be watching this case closely. it is something many people are going through. richmond is the first city to enact an aggressive mortgage plan involving something called eminent domain. the city is contacting len doors to by -- lenders. then let the homeowners refinance and stay in the homes rather than face foreclosure. reports from richmond say half of the city's mortgaged homes are under water. we talked to one woman who says she's a victim of predatory lending. >> the banks knew what they were doing. we were happy to be homeowners. >> she says she owed $300,000 on her home which is worth $170,000 or even less. >>> the lawsuit filed this week by three mortgage bond trustees claims the move is unconstitutional. violates commerce laws and hurt the taxpayers who are involved in these mortgage transactions. in our next hour of mornings on 2, at the time reason real estate

. >>> other news now, the city of richmond is going after chevron for last year's refinery fire. they filed a lawsuit against the oil giant and kpix 5 reporter anne makovec live with what the city is hoping to get out of this lawsuit. anne. >> reporter:is the 39- page lawsuit here and there is no monetary amount actually listed in these papers. it's all going to eventually be up to a jury unless there's a settlement to decide how much the city of richmond should get from chevron. the fire last august 6th at chevron's richmond refinery sent a toxic plume of smoke into the air and 15,000 people to hospitals complaining of breathing problems. the lawsuit says the fire was a result of years of neglect and corporate indifference. >> it's critical to our responsibility as government officials to require chevron to take steps ensuring the same thing does not happen again. >> reporter: the damage was sparked by an oil leak in a steel pipe that was damaged by corrosion damage not appropriately documented after years of inspection. the city says the fire stretched its public safety resource

. >> almost air year after the richmond fire the city of i richmond filed suit against chef rochblt aipe burst causing an explosion and fire n a lawsuit city leaders say it resulted from years of neglect and indifference to safety. city leaders say litigation is meant to-to-hold the oil giant account ybl. >> just not about money. money is something the city has coming to us. the focus is creating a healthy, safe atmosphere. >> the suit cites 14 other incidents since 1989. chevron would not respond but in this statement says the city meritless law surt is a waste of resources and yet other example of failed leadership. >> a's will have to jump through more legal hd hurdles tonight if they want to build a ballpark in san jose. these are pictures of what it might look like claiming a deal to sell land is below market rates and illegal. the a's waiting for major league baseball to give permission to make this move. >> we enjoyed a lovely day around the bay. a tad bit cooler. >> yes. we'll keep it cooler than normal. warmer today, areas came up. we're going to show you live doppler 7 hd. s

. >> almost air year after the richmond fire the city of i richmond filed suit against chef rochblt aipe burst causing an explosion and fire n a lawsuit city leaders say it resulted from years of neglect and indifference to safety. city leaders say litigation is meant to-to-hold the oil giant account ybl. >> just not about money. money is something the city has coming to us. the focus is creating a healthy, safe atmosphere. >> the suit cites 14 other incidents since 1989. chevron would not respond but in this statement says the city meritless law surt is a waste of resources and yet another example of failed leadership. >> a's will have to jump through more legal hd hurdles tonight if they want to build a ballpark in san jose. these are pictures of what it might look like claiming a deal to sell land is below market rates and illegal. the a's waiting for major league baseball to give permission to make this move. >> we enjoyed a lovely day around the bay. a tad bit cooler. >> yes. we'll keep it cooler than normal. warmer today, areas came up. we're going to show you live doppler 7 hd.

. >> the city of richmond made good on a promise to sue chevron. they earned $241 billion a year and richmond wants some of that cash to pay for the city's response to the emergency and aftermath of last year's refinery fire. the city filed a 39-page complaint saying it was not an accident, but disregard for public safety. chevron knew about the condition of their pipe and did nothing to prevent failure. >> the purpose of this lawsuit has never been about money. the purpose is changing culture. >> we want to seat highest standards of safety put forward. >> they called the lawsuit meritless. the baseless allegations are designed to divert attention away from the city council. that's their quote. much more ahead and still to come, the police department said it has a big problem with bike theft. where the thieves have grabbed more than 50 bikes just this year. new details this morning about what happened leading up to the train crash that killed 79 people. the warnings that investigators say were ignored. . >> we are looking live from our camera and s

one city council member says the fire broke up a marriage between richmond. >> when one starts a fire're going to be in a rocky part of the marriage it happened almost a year ago. august 6th at 6:15 a pipe in a crude oil unit ruptured. the fire and smoke blanketed the skies and sent 15,000 rez don'ts hospitals. thousands filed individual claims against the refinery. the city council first broched the idea in may of hiring lawyers to sue chevron, deciding to continue to try to reach a settlement out of court. two weeks ago, they voted hire the. >> chevron owes the people as well as the city of richmond hundreds of millions of dollars based on the damage they've done to our commute overtime. >> the lawsuit asked for damages for clean up and emergency response. as well as impact the fire had on property values and, on the environment. chof ron responded with this statement... we cannot comment on the merits of a lawsuit that we have not yet seen. t the do persue such a suit is a waste do of resources yet another example of failed leadership. vic lee abc 7 news. >> still ahead tonight fol

their homes by banks but there may be light at the end of the tunnel on monday the bay area city of richmond california sent a letter to thirty two banks announcing a tentative plan to buy out the debt of the more than six hundred of its residents mortgages using its powers of eminent domain a power provided of the fifth amendment to take private land and use it for public purposes the city would give six hundred twenty four families and individuals struggling to make their mortgage payments new and more affordable loans here's the plan would work say a homeowner has a two hundred thousand dollars mortgage on a house that's now only worth one hundred one hundred thousand dollars under the rules of eminent domain the constitution requires that when the home is taken there be a reimbursement at market value so the city would take the home and offer one hundred thousand dollars minus twenty grand for fees and costs associated with the process and write a check to the bank that held the mortgage for eighty thousand dollars the bank would write off their hundred twenty thousand dollars loss on th