why alameda?fference between raccoons on the loose there and other parts of the bay area. abc7's alan wang explains. >> over here raccoons were heading toward this way. >> an open dog door lead to an all out battle at 3:00 a.m. in the kitchen. >> i have always known they were around. >> four full grown raccoons, a 15-year-old lab mix and sophie, a four-year-old chawini. >> i also started doing stuff and you can see where they tried to bite hold of her arm. >> sophie found herself out matched. >> they had a hold of her and was pulling back and off like this with a little dog in her mouth. >> it was an intense 45-second fight. it grabbed sophie by the shoulder in its jaws. it is the 10th raccoon attack in alameda this year. most involve attacks on small dogs while they are being walked. at least four of the pit owners were bitten. >> we would like to inform the public not to walk the dog after dark. >> the alameda county health department requires locking your dog door at night. the raccoons are los

. >>> some little rascals are creating quite a stir in alameda. vice president-elector control -- vector control officials say the number of raccoon attacks is on the rise and they think they know why. allie rasmus is in an alameda neighborhood tonight where a pack of raccoons got into a home and caused a lot of problems. >> reporter: alameda county vector control says the raccoons are getting around the city through the city's storm sewer system. they wait until dark and crawl out of these storms drain -- storm drains to start looking for food. >> raccoons were at least this long and, you know, they look big and fluffy like this. >> reporter: the cruz family dogs now how tough those raccoons can be. four came in through the kitchen -- into the kitchen through the family's doggy doer last thursday and got -- door last thursday and got into a scuffle with the pets. >> all this commotion broke loose. >> reporter: cruz says one of the raccoons had the smaller dog by the scruff of the neck. >> it looked as though he was trying to drag it out the back

---pues son miles de dolares y ahora ...a quienes viven en alameda les saldra aun mas caro...e lanzaron hoy el operativo contra conductores borrachos en esta epoca festiva....---pilar niÑo...nos trae mas detalles. =pilar niÑo=hoy se anuncio que se dedicaran cinco millones de dolares para que agencias del orden efectuen mas retenes de sobriedad en california..... desde hoy hasta el proximo 2 de enero, seran mas de 200. 200. vamos a tener la mayoria de los oficiales trabajando durante estas dos proximas semanas de navidad y ano nuevo, lo tomamos bastante serio porque sabemos que mucha gente va a tomar 14:48 y queremos no van a tener un accidente donde alguien puede morir aunque han bajado, aun 30 por ciento de las muertes en accidentes de transito en el estado, son ocasionadas por conductores embriagados...a esto sumele el costo economico. economico. usted sabe cuanto le cuesta a un conductor manejar embriagado en california? sinceramente no porque nunca lo he hecho verdad entre multas, grua, fianzas, escuela de trafico, abogados y el seguro, un dui le puede costar al conductor

reporting live in alameda, i'm cheryl heard, nbc bay area news. >> all right, cheryl.e city council will bring more green into the city. instead of approving a ban on the 100 cannabis clubs and starting over with new regulations, they decided to go ahead with a 20% tax voted by councilmembers. san jose mayor chuck reed supports the new tax. >>> is that really faux fur you're wearing? what if you learned the fake fur is actually the real thing? when the humane society of the united states investigated, they found that real fur often comes from what are called raccoon dogs. we took hidden cameras into some of the bay area's most popular stores. as vicki nguyen reports, people buy real fur without knowing it. >> store after store of san francisco's union square. >> get a lot of people buying these? >> reporter: it wasn't easy to find out if they were real or fake. even when signs were posted saying faux fur and even when we asked the salespeople. >> so that means it's not real? >> but an investigator with the humane society of the united states said they were wrong every

-- in the county of alameda, located southeast of the san antonio reservoir between calaveras road and vallecitos road in sunol. president vietor: all of those in favor? opposed? congratulations, mr. ramirez. >> i just wanted to say that you buzzed off eight or nine items related to the water, and whenever it adds up to, we do whatever it adds up to, again, a tremendous effort in times of -- terms of getting this done. president vietor: thank you. we appreciate it. we appreciate all of your good work, too. secretary housh: madam president, we're getting ready to move to close session. a motion to invoke the attorney- client privilege. president vietor: all of those in favor? opposed? the motion carried. secretary housh: give me a moment to read them, and then we will move into closed session. item 22, item 23, and we will now moved into closed session -- moving to closed session. disclose. >> second. all in favor. opposed. thank you. commission secretary, next item. >> next item is 26, authorize the utilities commission to negotiate and execute a seventh amendment to an opposite agreem

. >> there's an alarming number of raccoon attacks taking place in alameda. why alameda? it turns out there's a different between raccoons on the loose there and in other parts of the bay area. allen wong explains. >> an open dog door led to an all out battle at 3 a.m. in the cruise family kitchen (barking ") >> four full grown raccoons versus sierra, a 15-year-old lab mix and sophie, a chihuahua." >> she was bit her on the nose. also here on the side. see where they'd tried to bite ahold of her arm. >> sophie found self out matched. >> they had a hold of her and was pulling back and off like this with the little dog in their mouth. >> that's why we like to inform the public not to walk the dog after dark. >> the alameda county environment health department represents locking your dog door at night. they say the raccoons are losing their fear of humans because too many are feeding them. on alameda they're more aggressive than mainland raccoons. >> this is kind of an island, if you have more animals, it doesn't have release to go to other places. >> less territory means mo

preening in a train from alameda county. from the county work division. and is extracted this call from the m >> and also, that this was the fate reserve for such animals. >> sentimental. >> and he did not make any big business or deal of anything. he was really able the animal. >> troy, she is a fortunate, and castro valley, jeff pierce, kron 4 news. >> the lot aside, that is the next storm system. that rain fall-the left system. with the left side, showing the next storm system. your complete forecast, coming up. well, we've a storm offshore. a nice day but it was cold this morning. below freezing, and chilly with high temperatures only in the low 50s. some places only in the 40's all day long. this system will bring us a chance for rainfall and those fireworks could be perhaps delayed. and with the increasing chance of rain fall right around and midnight. perlite to start and heavy as the morning progresses. it-fairly light to start. temperatures in the 40's, and been the clear skies in a sunny day. and that will change into the afternoon. the storm sy

and supported participants in the coordinating council for reentry in alameda county. i would say it is an unlikely ally, and i'm sure that we are lucky in his leadership and support. but i do think it is because they are starting to see the connection between services and opportunities for people after incarceration. and the outcomes, which are positive. in the same vein, my office, we have funding to provide legal services for people with criminal records. unfortunately, the san francisco public defender is unique in this state. there are a few other models, but it is unfortunately not in every county, but there is a clean slate project, and that is not a foregone conclusion. the other thing is i and my bad attitude, i probably lost over the good laws that do exist. one challenge where i hope we see a lot of movement is dismantling the structural barriers people have and space from accessing what laws do exist, so that would be another one. from the very least, providing these legal services around the state. also, just a simple "know your rights" campaign. there are

stacey moffett is here from global partnership with chevron and susan basin is here from the alameday food bank. we are presenting "food for bay area families" a special time of the year that we all enjoy here at cbs 5. welcome, ladies. >> thank you. >> you have a special presentation, stays circumstances. i do. we're giving $200,000 to two local food banks, the alameda county community food bank and the food bank of contra costa and solano counties. >> i understand this is very important especially for the alameda county food bank because the last time i was reading up on this, what is it, one out of every six people go hungry in alameda county? >> we are currently serving one out of six residents of alameda county and one in three children faces the risk of hunger. >> i was reading that's about 43% of the children are hungry? >> yes. and it's shocking. it really shouldn't be. this gift will go a long way towards eradicating that problem. >> stacey, you get to do the big presentation. i know you have been carrying this check in your pocket all day long. >> so we have the check. [ ap

thieves hit alameda christmas tree lane repeatedly over the weekend. never happened in the 72 year resident have been decorating homes on a block of thompson avenue near high street. allen wong there live tonight this is awfully disappointing. >> it sure is dan. a lieutenant of the decorations bring back childhood memory including the aluminum christmas tree in this neighbor window. but tonight there's something more than holiday decorations that are missing. it's the trust shared by generations in this community. >> this is small compared to the ones they took because the other ones were, they are about this big and different shapes and what have you. they were very pretty. i was really sad to see them go but more disappointed that these ones were taken because they were hand made by my girlfriend. >>reporter: the people on alameda colorful christmas tree lane woke up to find the holiday decoration missing. >> what do you do with other people things like that. i don't understand. >>reporter: what's your suspicion. >> i don't know makes me sick. makes

. >> alameda police are warning residents about vicious raccoons attacking people and agendas.he most reason attack wounded two family pets after a gang of raccoons used a doggie door to get in the house. >> in that most recent attack, four raccoons went in through the pet door, attacked the two pet dogs and now they're under rabies quarantine for 30 days. keep those pet doors shut. maybe that sign should read beware of raccoon. they've been terrorizing alameda for months and neighbors are taking precaution. >> i heard about the raccoons. we have a door, doggie door in the back where they can come and go at night. it's also got a slide down in to shut the door and i closed that. they don't go outside at night anymore. >> the raccoons come out of night looking for food and there's lots of it in garbage and recycling cans you find in the street and now going into the homes in pet doors to enjoy dog and pet food. >> if there weren't people feeding raccoons on purpose, there's some of those. and if there wasn't that, there would be still be food but the population wouldn't get so h

it all unfolded around midnight when alameda county sheriff deputies tried to make a traffic stop. suspect rammed a deputies car and hit a bart police officers car who happened to be driving through the intersection. the officer is now in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. the 23-year-old suspect is in icu with head injuries. he was on parole. >> oakland's police department is shrinking so fast it doesn't have enough officers to cover some patrols and many investigative units have been stripped to the bones. the san francisco chronicle reports some 80 officers were laid off in june because of budget cuts. 21 more officers have retired. 12 other left for other police departments and five have simply quit. that leaves the department with only 670 officers. the chief estimates that 925 are needed to get the job done. this afternoon governor schwarzenegger will provide details of his plan to deal with the state's $6 billion budget deficit. this morning the governor called an emergency special session to deal with california's latest budget deficit. he says lawmakers need

the posey tube is closed that will take you from alameda to oakland. that construction lasting until about 5:00 this morning. another half hour there, but you can take the park street or the high street bridges. report of an accident at grand. that's at the top of your screen and we don't know if it's east or westbound. we have wet roads. the live shot past the coliseum. off to the left side of the screen, the off-ramp from the southbound side has construction going on there until 5:00 a.m. where folks are working on the rain. they work hard overnight so we don't have to have the blockage during the day. >> we will check back. parents a buzz about a second attack on a little girl in a store. the 28-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting a little girl. the 8-year-old was shopping with her family and wandered into the toy section when the attack happened. malcolm mason tackled the suspect and kept him until police arrived. >> if i hadn't been there, he would have been gone. wal-mart is very busy. you have a lot of people going about their business. t

it all unfolded arou midnight when alameda county sheriff deputies tried to make a traffic stop. suspect rammed a deputies car and hit a bart police officers car who happened to be drivinthrough the intersection. the officer is now in the hospital with non-life-threatening injues. the 23-ye-old suspect is in icu with head injuries. he was on parole. >> oakland's police department is shrinking so fast it doesn't have enough officers to cover some patrols and many investigative units have been stripped to the bones. the san francisco chronicle reports some 80 officers were laid off in june because of budget cuts. 21 more officers have retired. 12 other left for other police departments and five have simply quit. that leaves the depament with only 670 officers. the chief estimates that 925 are needed to get the job done. this afternoon governor schwarzenegger will provide details of his plano deal with the state's $6 billion budget deficit. this morning the governor called an emergency special session to deal with california latest budget deficit. he says lawmakers need to tackle th

we serve one in six families in alameda county. this year we'll distribute close to 20 million pounds. this sort of support is invaluable. >> we are always asking people to give if they have an opportunity. go to our website at cbssanfrancisco.com. that's what's going on over here. we have nothing but good things. it's holiday cheer. >> also people can donate at whole foods. >>> that's it for cbs 5 news at noon. our next newscast is at 5:00. and don't forget, we're always on cbs5.com. enjoy the day while it's not raining. ,, [ female announcer ] safeway talks gift ideas. music makes a great gift. i like rock, hip-hop, country... and you are telling me this, why? i...uh...thought you might be my secret santa? no. i'm giving for skunk. uh, i can hear you. no. not you. the other skunk. [ female announcer ] safeway is the place to stock up on itunes gift cards. right now, save $6 on a $40 4-pack. keep 'em on hand. only at safeway. ingredients for life.

our my picks photo, a fox in alameda? yes, there is a fox in alameda. beth caught it right there at bay farm island in alameda. good job, beth. if you have a nice photo you would like to show off you can feel free to e-mail it to us at cbs5.com. >> a beautiful animal. >> wow. >> tracy, thank you very much. >> okay. what do you think is the most annoying word in the language for the second year in a row. you have teenagers you know. >> yes, because they say it all the time. whatever. whatever dad. >> it's terrible so dismissive. but more than 1,000 polled in the survey and results are showing 39% think that whatever is the most annoying english word. the runners up were like. that's been around for a long time. 28%. and the phrase you know what i mean. that got 15%. but at the end of the day, i hate that one, too. at the end of the day, whatever. >> dad, whatever, you know what i mean. >> just go away, dad. [ laughter ] >> a reminder if you have a consumer related problem or question. our consumer watch hotline is open every friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

what we are learning is that after 11:47 last night alameda county deputies were patrolling castro valley when they pulled over the driver of a 1994 honda civic that they matched a stolen car description. that car was stolen last friday. the driver threw the car into reverse when stopped, slammed into the officer's car and took off. the police chase ensued through the city of castro valley into

street in alameda. that's when the raccoon action broke into a home through that door. if this is been a growing problem dating back to last spring. as kron 4 craig tells us, there may not be much people living there can do about a >>. the latest attack took place on this quiet street, the middle-class residents men to have dogs will double to attacks from wild animals. if this has a list target of december 9th for raccoons invaded in the middle the night. it's not like the raccoons are going and taking down the door, what they're doing is fine little ways in including those little doors designed for cats and dogs. if the does won three doors down and even nelsons are dominated by the small cabin door. she's a wild animals are, men here. >> this possums and mice and rats carry it one of my dogs little bodies around the corner on high street was attacked by iraq could early one morning. it's scary. were just being super cautious pair >> head some residents have been given by rackham's the number of cases

we are joined with sergeant jd nelson of alameda county sheriff's office. thank you for joining us. good morning. briefly, how did the chase again? >> it started just before midnight. deputies were behind a stolen car. the car pulled into a long driveway. deputies got out of their car, ordered the suspect out of the car. he did not do that. he put his car in reverse, slammed into the deputy's car

thieves hit alameda christmas tree lane repeatedly over the weekend. >> this is small compared to thenes they took because the other ones were about this big and different shapes and what have you. they were very pretty. i was sad to see them go but i was more disappointed that these ones were taking because they were handmade by my girlfriend. >> the colorful christmas tree lane woke to find their holiday decorations missing. >> what do you do with other people's things? i don't understand. it makes me sick. makes me sad. >> carol had to replace 16 of his handmade candy cane poles and the strands of lights connected to them. >> did you get any sleep last night? >> a few hours. >> what were you doing? >> i was up until almost 4:00 in the morning looking out the window. >> the lady across the street lost several large ornaments and other teacher down the block lost all her lights also. >> among the 54 brightly lit homes four were hit on friday and saturday night. it violates tradition enjoyed by alameda residence since 1938. >> the only time it was blacked out was for world war ii. >>

the deputies were chasing the suspect who first ran a red light, then rammed an alameda county sheriff department patrol car. the bart officer is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. the suspect is in intensive care with head injuries. the suspect is on parole for stealing vehicles. the stolen cash was taken from the bart station a week ago. >> also this morning a showdown in the debate over same sex marriage takes place in less than five hours from now. both sides face off at the highest legal level yet. terry mcsweeney is live in front of the 9th circuit court of appeals with more what we can expect today. terry? >> we're going to be hearing actually two different arguments out here, one of course appealing judge vaughan walker's decision that proposition 8 defining marriage between a man and a woman is unconstitutional. before that we hear an argument whether the people in favor of prop 8 even have standing to be in court asking for an appeal. here is a preview of that argument. >> usually we only did allow somebody who has that sort of abstract p interest as opposed

a group of raccoons attack two dogs inside a house in alameda. how those wild animals got inside. >>> plus how you can cash in on a new car sharing program right here in the bay area. >>> good morning. if you're driving on the san mateo bridge any time soon, should be a nice drive for you. let me tell you more about the morning commute and the bay weather straight ahead. >>> good morning. little bit of patchy fog under cloudy skies. cooler in the 40s right now. end up with a little bit of sun today. and temperatures not very warm but they're in the mid-50s. >>> all right. time now 5:26. winter storm warning for the sierra expired early this morning. but know showers are still expected through the morning. we can also tell you the major mountain highways are wide open at this hour. the chains or snow tires are required here on highway 88 near king vale as well as on interstate 80 and highway 50 right now. you're looking at a live picture of the road conditions out there. if you plan to drive to the sierra, just make sure you carry chains. >>> ther

. >>> the alameda county district attorney's office will not accept the appeal to drop gun charges in the mehserle case. >>> it's a story we first brought you, the woman at the center of the san francisco drug lab will not face jail time. >> reporter: ktvu learned that retired debra madden will not face charges for allegedly stealing small amounts of cocaine from the lab. >> thanks for letting me know? the news surprised her lawyer, the district attorney did not inform him of the decision. >> she's exstatic obviously. >> reporter: an attorney general's office spokesman told us there was not enough evidence to convict her. >> she might have tampered in evidence with cases, we believe that isn't the case at this point. >> reporter: harris handed over the case to the attorney general in april. other still officials say they are shocked to learn madden will not be charged. the district attorney's office declined comment today, madden still faces a january hearing on felony charges in san mateo county. david stevenson, ktvu news. >>> and police are working with san mateo detectives to dete

. >>> the alameda county district attorney's office will not accept the appeal to drop gun charges in the mehserle case. >>> it's a story we first brought you, the woman at the center of the san francisco drug lab will not face jail time. >> reporter: ktvu learned that retired debra madden will not face charges for allegedly stealing small amounts of cocaine from the lab. >> thanks for letting me know? the news surprised her lawyer, the district attorney did not inform him of the decision. >> she's exstatic obviously. >> reporter: an attorney general's office spokesman told us there was not enough evidence to convict her. >> she might have tampered in evidence with cases, we believe that isn't the case at this point. >> reporter: harris handed over the case to the attorney general in april. other still officials say they are shocked to learn madden will not be charged. the district attorney's office declined comment today, madden still faces a january hearing on felony charges in san mateo county. david stevenson, ktvu news. >>> and police are working with san mateo detectives to dete

the alameda county sheriff's department says the suspect was driving a stolen car. the deputies were pursuing the suspects who first ran a red light then rammed a patrol car before hitting the bart officer vehicle not involved in the pursuit. the bart officer is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. the suspect in intensive care with head injuries. the suspect is a 23-year-old man on patrol for stolen vehicles. the stolen car he was driving at this time was taken from the bart station a week ago. oakland's police department is shrinking so fast it doesn't have enough officers to cover some patrols. the san francisco chronicle reports 21 officers have retired. a dozen others have left for other departments and five have simply quit. that leaves the department with only 670 officers when the chief says 925 are what he needs to get the job done. there are now five cops investigating everything from auto thefts to burglaries and six of the city's 33 patrol car beats are not being covered. >> san francisco supervisors are considering a measure that would im

joining studio is she is art and education from alameda.igger name. >> i'm here with alliance for art leadership out of the alameda county of education. >> what does that do? >> the alliance provides support for school districts, educators throughout the kind of an to make sure that people have meaningful art experiences that is tough job. how do you do it? >> we try to get everyone involved. one of the things that is important for us is that the public understand how essentialr arts are for our classroom. it's not something we view as an additive or something that is nice to have if you have the time but really an essential part of creating a full and complete education for our children. so we work to change perception and we help to support teacher training development in the schools. >> that is a big, big job. >> absolutely. >> what kinds of arts are we talking about? >> we really like to look beyond discipline, arts, music, we likes literary arts media artsng, helping to shape children's education, help them tap in their creative spirit