our senior education reporter lyanne melendez was invited to go along. lyanne: it was interesting. the head of the american federation of teachers arrived in san francisco this morning. she has done this before at other schools, where she sees firsthand how students and teachers." with people being absent and, of course, stressed. this is the eighth school so far she has visited as the omicron surge carries on. >> i have tried to be in schools, at least two schools a week, every week since january. lyanne: that is 89 schools since last april when in-person learning resumed. the head of the american federation of teachers spoke to some of its members from visitation valley middle school in san francisco about the impact the pandemic has had on classes. >> people who are just bone- tired, yet when they go into their classrooms, they come alive and they give everything that they have to their kids. lyanne: take this band class, work today, all the students were -- many students were absent, and the teacher made her do. one visitor stepped in to sing the song "despacito." she has gone

lyanne:. lyanne: the contra costa county health department is reaffirming the importance of keeping kids here learning at school in person. but with the number of teachers getting sick, the district says every day is a challenge. west contra costa unified is giving every teacher 2 kn95 masks a week for the rest of the school year. the district also added three testing sites, and, governor newsom has also given school districts permission to be more flexible when hiring substitutes. >> we are going to be doing and executing a massive campaign where we are going to be reaching out to parents and community members that meet the criteria so we can get them in quickly. lyanne: the hiring flexibility provided under the governor's order will expire in march. in richmond, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news today is the first day of sonoma county's new restrictions. indoor events are capped at 50 people. if you are at high risk, the maximum is 12 unless it is a family gathering. the county is recommending but

lyanne: why were the 49ers named the 49ers?w the question. >> no, not at all. sounds familiar. >> was it the gold rush? >> let's go niners! lyanne: middle schoolers with the 49ers of spirit and enough energy to carry them through sunday. in san francisco, leeann melendez, abc 7 news. liz: love the energy. still ahead on abc 7 mornings, 49 are faithful to the next level. we will tell you health rent -- fans are preparing for tomorrow's big game and introduce you to one fan whose loyalty is so extreme, he is known as the eye of the finer -- 49er. and here is a live look outside this morning, beautiful view over the city. it is 9:30's 9:38 and we will check in with liz: welcome back. here is a live look at sfo overnight. the niners made their way down to l.a., a lot of people getting ready for the big game. before we talk about that, the home of the wars will be home to another lunar new year celebration tonight. last night, large crowd turned out at chase center for live performances, a dj, food tastings, and all sorts of enterta

lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. dan: lyanne has been reporting on bay area schools for decades. that is why she is our senior education reporter. get in touch with her on twitter anytime @lyannemelendez. ama: neighbors and hercules are on lockdown right now because of a police situation unfolding. here is what we know. people in the trees neighborhood near redwood road are advised to stay inside the closest safe place. we have learned someone is barricaded in a house in that area and is brandishing a gun. no reports of injuries at the moment. police are telling neighbors to close and lock all windows and doors for the next four hours, unless told otherwise. people should stay off the phone and are told not to call 911 unless they need to report a life-threatening emergency. we are gathering information and will bring you new details as we get them. a san bruno jewelry store owner took matters into his own hands to stop a smash and grab robbery. surveillance video shows a person running into the jewelers last friday and taking a crowbar to the display case per watch as the owner

we have senior education reporter lyanne melendez in the newsroom with more.oon that their child's school was on that list of possible closures. that was a surprise to many, and so was how quickly this process is going. there will be a final vote on february 8. mike hutchinson wants everyone to know he is the one who released the list of schools that may end up closing. the oakland school board member first posted it on social media. >> i didn't think anything. it wasn't privileged or confidential information. what i did was my job, reporting to my constituents in the community that information i received about schools being under threat for closure. lyanne: the oakland superintendent then sent out a note saying, to be clear, the information is from a draft, not the final set of recommendations. this is a map with proposed closures for this year, among them an elementary school that today, staff there began distributing flyers to parents interested in having a meeting about this possible closure. lucretia henderson, a grandmother, has a d

lyanne melendez came to us from presidio middle school, a.k.a. the young >> as you know, the 49ers legacy started here. almost everyone came ready to show their love for the game and for the team. sure, they may be able able able a few passes, but let's see how much these students have really learned. you know, the important stuff, like -- who is your favorite player? >> i just like all the players. >> do you have a favorite player? >> no, i do not. but i do on the other team, the rams. >> do you know how many super bowls they have won? >> i'm not sure, probably six? >> five or something? >> why were the 49ers named the 49ers? >> i actually don't know that question. >> no, not at all. >> sounds familiar. >> was it the gold rush? >> middle schoolers with the 49er spirit and enough energy to carry them through sunday. in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. dan: are they excited or what? cannot afford to go to the 49ers/rams showdown? we will tell you how to get the stadium experience right here in the bay area. first psoriasis, then psoriat

senior education reporter lyanne melendez joins us in the newsroom with the sticking points. it is going down to the wire. >> the 11th hour. for parents wondering if teachers can strike as early as monday, the answer is no. teachers in the union, about 2700, would have to vote first. there are three demands being negotiated right now. the main one over testing. the threat of a teacher strike looms over oakland as last-minute negotiations are expected to go into late in the evening. >> tonight sessions,, not bring an agreement, i'm off the rise to call a strike vote. >> teachers would have to vote possibly as early as monday. there are three demands made by the union the school district agreed on. according to the union, the school district refuses to put them in writing. covid testing is one of them. teachers want each school to have access to testing on site once a week. some families have to travel to a nearby site. the union also argues the hours of operation are not practical. >> if they have to go across to a place they don't know, they may not have a vehicle to access i

lyanne melendez visited presidio middle school in san francisco today, a.k.a.ng 49er empire. >> lunchtime at presidio middle school interrupted. >> ♪ let's go, 9ers ♪ 9ers ♪ 9e♪ >> as you know, the 49ers' legacy started here with the cats. almost everyone came ready to show their love for the game and for the team. they may be able to throw a f passes, but let's see how much these students have really learned. you know, the important stuff. like, who is your favorite player? >> i just like all of the players on the 49ers. >> do you have a favorite player? >> well, -- no, i do not. well, i do on the other team, the rams. >> do you know how many super bowls they have won? >> i'm not sure, probably six? >> five or something? >> why were the 49ers named the 49ers? >> i actually don't know that question. >> no, not at all. >> sounds familiar. >> was at the gold rush? >> middle schoolers with the 49er spirit and enough energy to carry them through sunday. school right there. that will do it for this addition of abc 7 news at 4:0 new year, new start. and now comcast b

lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> happening now, the san jose city council is voting on a new law requiringwners to buy reliability insurance and pay ad the first city in the nation tod violate the constitution and punish citizens who have not committed a crime. the board of supervisors spent most of the day deciding whether or not to build a new maximum security jail after hours of discussion, they approved the new gel while voting to look into alternatives to incarceration. zach fuentes followed today's meeting and explained why some say the county needed to focus only on incarceration alternatives. >> this will not address the systems that fuel incarceration. >> do not build another monument to racism, punishment and trauma. that was the sentiment from hundreds during the board of supervisors meeting. the board is trying to decide whether or not to build a new maximum security jail for 500 inmates. the idea for a new gel has been in the works for years now, supervisors were set to vote in november. susan made a pushback than to delay the vote so that alternatives to incarceration could b

in san francisco, lyanne melendez. liz: still ahead, keepers o keeo status. of its kind experience in san francisco. here is a live look outside. time right now is 9:38. there are still some wins out there. there. hope staying up half the night searching for savings on your prescriptions? just ask your cvs pharmacist. we search for savings for you. from coupons to lower costs options. plus, earn up to $50 extra bucks rewards each year just for filling at cvs pharmacy. hi, i'm steve and i live in austin, texas. i work as a personal assistant extra bucks rewards to the owner of a large manufacturing firm. i've got anywhere from 10 to 50 projects going at any given time. i absolutely have to be sharp. let me tell ya, i was struggling with my memory. it was going downhill. my friend recommended that i try prevagen and over time, it made a very significant difference in my memory and in my cognitive ability. i started to feel a much better sense of well-being. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. liz: if you are looking for something to do, check out a first of

in oakland, lyanne melendez.y: to keep track of the latest impact of omicron and the pandemic in general, find all of our stories at abc7news.com/coronavirus. ama: monday is martin luther king jr. day, but many celebrations are being curtailed because of the omicron variant. tim johns talked to community leaders who say there are still ways to honor his legacy. reporter: as the omicron variant continues to spread, mlk day celebrations around the bay area feeling the impact for the second year in a row. in oakland, the anti-police terror group hosting events all day long. this was originally's post happen in person. >> we realized with the surge of omicron it was not responsible or safe. reporter: a similar story in san francisco. friday afternoon, mayor london breed hosted the 38th annual martin luther king jr. day celebration virtually. >> dr. king once begin to end the day we become silent about things that truly matter. reporter: they urge san francisco and to do their best to honor dr. king's legacy. she says

as we detail in the book, this effort so much attention on january 6th and right lyanne outrage and iout a lot more about that in the coming weeks. to me and to matt, the bigger threat to america occurred right after the election on november 3rd when for weeks and months donald trump and rudy giuliani and many cases personally bullied and tried to get local election officials to falsify the election results and trying to get judges to rule in cases, that's ridiculous. this is a poorly organized but concerted effort throughout the country as many of the things trump did and this was not well thought through and failed reasonably. the reason it failed because they went up against americans all over the country who are not fundamentally dishonest as they hoped. they refused to say they had run dishonest election or the election were false. they do things dramatically different as we found out of the 2000 election and the recount. mika, in my district i had six counties i represented. six different superviors and you could not get them to agree on a sandwich and running a meeting together