velena jones live in oakland for us. velena. thank you. making it in the bay. not getting easier.ew report from zumper shows rents are soaring in some suburbs. campbell has the biggest jump. they're up over 32% since last year. the median rent for a one bedroom is $3,000, $3,500 for two bedrooms. campbell is followed by menlo park at 24% and sunnyvale is third, with rent jumping 23%. now that's year over year growth. go month by month, though. petaluma takes the top spot, followed by campbell again and berkeley taking third. okay, it is no secret traveling can be very stressful. checking bags, going through security, making sure you get to the gate on time. now sfo has a new way to calm those nerves. our marcus washington shows us how. if you travel a lot, you know airports can be overwhelming. now, sfo is providing a place for travelers to relax. it's a new sensory room now open inside the harvey milk terminal. that cabin simulator is the centerpiece of sfo's new sensory room. it's designed for neurodivergent travelers looking to ease that feeling of nervousness over flying. it a

okay, velena jones live for us. thank you so much for that preview. nba all-star game is next week right here in the bay area. but this weekend, new orleans will be the center of the sports universe for super bowl 59 that takes place this sunday. this is a live look at the superdome where security will be extra tight. the big game always a big security challenge. and with president trump attending this year and the recent new year's day terror attack, authorities are being extra vigilant. we spoke with one of the city's top crime fighting leaders about what's being done, along with a verizon representative who says some of the same measures will be adopted when next year's super bowl arrives. right here at levi's stadium in the bay area. january 1st has just helped us increase our technology and just bring everybody together so that we can make sure that we are leveraging technology as we know it in the public safety space. tanisha and i have actually had the pleasure of meeting with the city of santa clara, the city of inglewood, and have been able t

nbc bay area's velena jones has a look at the opd's all star safety plan. the nba all star game may be in the city, but much of the all star celebration will actually happen in the town. that will include the celebrity all star game practice for the all star game and the hbcu classic. we are really excited to be engaging with the oakland community. in particular. amber scott is leading the hbcu classic game at the oakland arena, where morehouse college and tuskegee university will face off. the game will also include hbcu bands, celebrity performances, and college admission tables to all fans to explore education opportunities. and from there, there are going to be a bunch of performances from both tuskegee university and morehouse college's bands that will be playing throughout the game. of course, you're going to see some amazing on court action. opd says they're working to keep everyone safe by opening the city's emergency operations centeand partnering with san francisco chp, the port of oakland, alameda county sheriff's department, and other outside ag

in oakland, velena jones nbc, bay area news. in other news, as california seeks to quadruple its battery storage of the solar power, the recent fire at a local battery plant is a major black eye. while the plant that burned in moss landing was once considered state of the art, it is now consired outdated and vulnerable. here's investigative reporter jaxon van derbeken. beneath this raging fire in moss landing is a massive 300 megawatt battery facility. the fire burned for hours and destroyed 80% of the plant's batteries.t also triggered evacuations of nearby neighborhoods, and monitoring data shows it spread toxic heavy metals into a nearby ecological preserve. the facility, run by a texas company called vistra, is one of the largest in the world. it's part of california's ambitious effort to ramp up battery storage systems to harness the potential of solar power. but the fire is serving as a wakeup call of the potential dangers. it's really no longer an emerging technology. it's here. adam barrow is an expert on battery safety

in oakland, velena jones, nbc, bay area news. okay. coming up next, a day in the life of the warriors hype man. we're going to take you inside chase center. where? there he is, franco finn getting ready for all star weekend. hear a familiar voice. totally. warriors hype man franco finn. it's the assignment of a lifetime for the san francisco native. so what exactly does the hype man do? nbc bay area's via gia vang went behind the scenes at chase center to find out. let's go, let's go, let's go. come on, come on. this is the hype. yeah, i like this. before the hype. dub nation, are you ready? if you've ever been to a warriors home game or watched one on tv, it's go time. you know the voice. get hyped and make some noise. born and raised here in the city. this is the moment i've been waiting for. literally in my 22 plus career years here. let's go, let's go. what's up, what's up? a dream assignment now. a reality for warriorsrs. hype man franco fin. three in a row, three in a row. i got an email. that's how i found out. but i'm like, why

in oakland, velena jones nbc bay area news. does look fun. all right. thank you. velena bay area is finally drying out after the latest round of storms, and crews are picking up the pieces on the ground. check it out. sky ranger captured this video today of that large tree that fell into a power line. this is south wright road in santa rosa. road was closed for hours this morning and way into the afternoon as well. pg&e crews were on the scene to make repairs and to clear out some of those branches. a lot of cleanup also ahead for homes along the russian river. we flew nbc bay area s ranger through sonoma county as well. now the weather has calmed down and you can see just how high the water still is for neighborhoods all along that area. jeff is here to talk about that as we recover, but also we're going to dry out and just get some really nice sunshine. yeah, saturday, sunday it's coming in. just excellent out here across the bay area. and then we are also talking about what could be a significant storm system for next week. so we got a lot to cover here. we're

nbc bay area's velena jones was there for us. the stars took over oakland arena from the world of entertainment to sports, leaving it all on the court. we have some strategy, you know, on the offensive end, they just said, give me the ball. i'm like, okay, i'm cool with that. niners legend jerry rice and giants legend barry bonds led the star studded rosters. team rice coaching singer shaboozey, comedian drewski and pro football hall of fame wide receiver terrell owens. jerry rice had a word or two for team barry bonds on the red carpet tonight. i want them to know. hey, barry, we out to beat you. we ought to take you down. we ought to take two chains down, and team rice is going to win. rice's team faced off against barry bonds with the help of rapper two chainz, helping coach players including actor rome flynn and danny ramirez. team bonds took home the w, winning 66 to 55 with actor rome flynn dubbed mvp. we had a great like just chemistry, camaraderie. we all just wanted each other to win and play for each other and we just h

nbc's velena jones joins us courtside. velena you got the best assignment of the night. what's happening there? i sure did. you know, it was a lot of excitement here in the arena. a lot of here for basketball. right. and of course, to see all their celebrity, all the celebrities here. and it was really a star studded event. you know, this all star celebrity game brought people from all over the country here back to the town to watch basketball tonight. it has wrapped up team barry bonds winning 66 against team jerry rice 55. now they are setting up for the hbcu classic which will be h here tomorrow. now when we look at this star studded roster, there were a lot of stars here. again, one of the teams coached by niners legend jerry rice. his team includes singer shaboozey, comedian drewski and pro football hall of fame wide receiver t.o. as you mentioned, they faced off against barry bonds, where rapper two chainz helped coach the players, including actors rome flynn and danny ramirez. now, rome flynn came away as the game's mvp tonight, scoring over 20 points. we caught u

here's nbc bay area's velena jones. reporter. bart is bracing for a big boost in business, as the nba all-star weekend takes both sides of the bay. when riders come to bart, if they take it for all star weekend, they're going to see clean stations. they're going to see our new train cars, they're going to see police presence, and they're going to have a great experience. the agency says they'll be using their longer eight car trains to accommodate what they expect to be a lot more riders this friday through sunday. they will also have extra trains on hand if needed. bart p-d is also partnering with opd, sfpd and the san francisco department of emergency management to make sure those riders feel safe. bart also announced today the installation of new, more secure fare gates at all downtown san francisco stations just in time for the big weekend. we do plan to have extra staffing. we do plan to have extra security, you know. of course we will have the visible presence on trains and in our station of our officers, ambassadors and cr

the game started just minutes ago and that's where we can find our very own velena jones. she's inside oakland arena and velena. i am so envious. bay area celebrities and sports legends are among those playing on that court. yeah, i know, absolutely. it's a star studded event for sure. the celebrity all star game is bringing fans from all over the country back here to oakland to watch basketball. you can see some of those fans still milling around tonight. there's going to be several different breaks within the evening as well as people do games and different things like that because it's not a real nba game. but there's a lot of excitement here tonight with fans waiting to see whether these celebrities can ball. now, tonight's star studded rosters include team jerry rice, who will be coaching. his team includes six time grammy nominated singer shaboozey, comedian drewski and pro football hall of fame wide receiver terrell owens. over on team barry bonds, we have two chainz helping coach players including emmy winning actor rome flynn and star of marvel studios captain ame

our velena jones fills us in on all the strings attached. but let's begin with breaking news. you might have just seen it on nightly news, but investigators just gave an update with new information. at least 17 people are hurt after a delta airlines plane flipped upside down upon landing in toronto, canada. you can see the plane on its top in this video taken by passenger john nelson. it happened earlier this afternoon, local time. amazingly no fatalities. and take a look at this video. another passenger, pico boulevard coco gauff, snapped this video while he was being helped out of the airplane by first responders. all 80 people on the flight were quickly accounted for. 76 passengers and four crew members. we do not know whether any of these passengers are critically injured, and we don't know exactly what caused the crash. but the delta plane landed in snowy conditions. airport emergency workers mounted a textbook response, reaching the site within minutes and quickly evacuating the passengers. we stood up our emergency operations center with delta airlines and representativ

in livermore, velena jones, nbc, bay area news. fleta. thank you. now to stay on top of the weather in your neighborhood throughout this rainy night and in the weeks ahead. download our free nbc bay area app. it's great resource to get started. we made it really easy. just scan that qr code you see on the left side of your screen. among the helpful features, you get access to our storm ranger radar that's the best in northern california, and updates from our team of meteorologists. raj we're going to move on to some other news from the bay area to boston this week, a day without an immigrant aimed to send a very direct message to the trump administration. workers stayed home. students didn't go to class to protest the immigration enforcement action across the country. but the p protest also led to collateral damage, including the hit that local schools took. with so many kids skipping class. nbc bay area's damian trujillo is in san jose with that story. school districts across the state are still doing the math, but the loss in state funding for one

velena jones nbc, bay area news. love that velena. thanks.rs play in chicago tonight and anticipation is growing as their newest player, jimmy butler, could be making his debut tonight. prior to the warriors thursday game against the lakers, butler met with the media as a warrior, saying he's excited and ready to play. the warriors acquired butler after trading andrew wiggins and kyle anderson to the miami heat. if butler plays tonight, it will be the first time he's been on the court since january 21st. tonight, the san jose sharks will host their own black history celebration. the team is celebrating by rolling out some special edition jerseys. and here's a sneak peek at what fans can expect. all the swag is created by washington, dc based logo artist jordan dabney. she's also an active member of the black girl hockey club, and she'll be a part of tonight's pre-game puck drop. the sharks host the dallas stars tonight at seven. all fans will receive a special beanie featuring her artwork. 53 past the hour. up next, a quick look at our top st

that was velena jones reporting. the new da is scheduled to be sworn in on tuesday. former oakland mayor sheng thao is expected to appear in court. this week comes a little more than two weeks after federal prosecutors unsealed an eight count indictment against how her partner, andre jones, and two members of the dewan family. the dugongs are an east bay family that own multiple businesses, including a prefab housing company and a recycling company contracted by the city. federal prosecutors say the scheme started in october 2022, a month before tao was elected as mayor. tao maintains her innocence. if convicted of all counts, tao and jones face a maximum of 95 years in prison. tao is due in court on thursday and plan on a few showers to start tomorrow morning. mild temperatures the day beginning in the 50s, ending with a lot of rain. and not just for the north bay like we saw this snowpack has dropped to 65% of average. this is typically the peak time for snowfall in the region. meteorologist rob mayeda takes a closer look at how our la nina weather and climate chan

velena jones today in the bay and the weekend is not just about basketball. this is the annual nba tech summit in san francisco. sort of business conference. you can see nba commissioner adam silver on the stage there sharing some time with robots. the summit unites nba players, past and present, with tech titans and venture capitalists. they're talking ideas, deals and partnerships. our coverage of the nba all-star weekend continues on nbcbayarea.com. just click on the link in our trending bar that's at the top of the page. you get a complete schedule of all the events, both in san francisco and in oakland. well, as we've been talking about a busy weekend in the city. look at the sun shining over transamerica pyramid this morning. there are events all across the city for the all star weekend, as well as the chinese new year parade that is happening later this morning. san francisco is ringing in the year of the snake. the parade starts at the corner of market and second. there will be more than two dozen floats. this year's grand marshal is actress joan chen

nbc bay area's velena jones has more on the outge from city workers, who are now demanding those layoff notices be rescinded. save our services, save our services. dozens of the nearly 100 city workers that have received layoff notices gathered in front of city hall today. they're not only calling for their jobs back, but claim the way the city rolled out the layoff notices breaks the law. they also note those layoffs could have a major impact on critical employees, like monitors tracking illegal dumping, neighborhood watch and crime analyst follow the law. protect our public services. and as an addendum, don't mess with city workers. be straight up. we're partners. we're teammates. two unions have jointly filed a charge with the california public employment relations board. they must eliminate their temporary employees. the temp agency employees, the limited duration employees before they can ever touch a civil servant. jennifer foster is one of the nearly 20 opd civilian employees cut. she says those cuts include police oversight and accountability units, along with those who process

but first, let's go to velena jones in oakland. that's the celebrity game that just wrapped up velena. that would have been so much fun to watch. oh, it was so much fun. and there's so much excitement here. you know, a lot of people are reminiscing about times when the dubs played here. you can see a lot of people exiting tonight as this game has just wrapped up, and the celebrity all star game is bringing fans from all over the country back to the town. the game just wrapped up with team barry bonds winning 66 to 55 against team jerry rice. now tonight's star studded rosters, including one team coached by niners legend jerry rice. his team includes singer shaboozey, comedian drewski and pro football hall of famer terrell owens. they'll face off. they faced off against barry bonds, where rapper two chainz helped out coach the players, including actors rome flynn and danny ramirez. now players and coaches got in a practice yesterday ahead of today's big game. they also walked the red carpet before hitting the court today. that's wher

in oakland, velena jones, nbc, bay area news. that sounds great. it's going to be fun with the valkyries and bay fc and its second season now. it's really a lot of support, especially in the bay area. and it gives you so many more options of venues of things that you can go see and sports activities and things to take the kids to. and that whole area is just growing so much. you got some valkyries kind of purple there on your tab. you know, i knew we were doing that story. supports women's sports. yes. and our weather forecast over the next couple of days for any kind of any kind of all star events, i think it's going to cooperate. we got the worst behind us as we move it into our microclimate forecast. i can show you that right now when the atmospheric river is what brought us that extreme rain this morning that probably had you up last night when those heavy, heavy downpours were coming on in. right now we're dealing with this area of upper low pressure, and that's going to keep the chance here. some on and off rain tonight. we'll keep some flood

in berkeley velena jones, nbc, bay area news. we have new details about that 15 year old boy who was stabbed to death at santana row. according to a post from the family on social media, the boy was on a valentine's day date with his girlfriend last friday. the post says he was beaten and then stabbed in the heart. police say the attackers ran off and have not been caught. investigators have not confirmed the number of people involved or whether they were also teenagers today at santana row. shoppers were stunned. that's so abrupt. like that's the way his life ended. like, i feel bad for, like, him and his family because i'm like, he was 15. like he had so much life left to live on the peninsula now. gladiators boxing gym in redwood city says the victim was a young boxer. they're posting on social media, quote, he was more than just a fighter. he was family, full of heart, determination and a bright future ahead for san jose. police. officers are recovering from minor injuries after they broke up a brawl over valentine's day. wee

here's nbc bay area's velena jones. reporter.ig boost in business, as the nba all-star weekend takes both sides of the bay. when riders come to bart, if they take it for all star weekend, they're going to see clean stations. they're going to see our new train cars, they're going to see police presence, and they're going to have a great e

nbc bay area's velena jones at one of the protests in oakland's fruitvale neighborhood.mmigrant tracey nyjah know immigrants, their families and allies are all joining together to stand in solidarity. their message? immigrants play a crucial role in the fabric of america, and they're under attack by the president. everything is influenced by immigrants. i mean, the country was built on immigrants. you know, if there wasn't an immigrant community, there would be this world would i mean, this country would be so different. so, so different. since president trump started ordering the mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, paula says she worries for her husband, who doesn't have the same protections as herself and kids every day. i mean, he walks out the door and you don't know if he's going to come back. you just don't. that's just the reality of our situation, you know? and it can happen anywhere. griner today, activists from the group, by any means necessary, led a march down international and 35th