china town has a large older population. more than 30 percent of china town are 65 and older twice the rate of san flrancisco population. how do we get the home bound seniors eshg vac wait. how do we find out if they are okay? another thing is language and cullural issues. a percentage of china town residents are what we call linguistically isolated meaning no one in the household age 14 or older speak english well. what this means is that all our response plans have to keep in mind that factor the signs and volunteer workers need to community in cantonese and mandarin. our trainings have to be cond t conducted in multilanguages. we convened a preparedness committee composed of organizations in china town. includes the we are fortunate to have 3 medical facilities in china town. chinese hospital. public health center 4 and we also have northeast medical service. these 3 organizations are part of our response network. we have the senior care organization such as self help for the elderly. senior health. the housing service li

about what they are expecting during this year's celebration, rob. >> reporter: julie, here in china towne've been hearing a familiar sound all day a sound that's also music to the ears of many store owners. at the empress of china restaurant, the year of the rabbit means big dinner crowds. especially on weekends. >> we have many parties for the association, for the chinese association. they have big parties. about you know sometimes about 500 people. >>> hundreds of thousands of people are expected to visit china town over the next two weeks. and they spend millions of the dollars here. some stores tell us they see 20 to 50% increases in business. >> reporter: these two weeks here we're really busy. especially on weekends. we have a couple of affairs coming up. great weekend. wall to wall people around here. >> reporter: so what do they buy? >> groceries and candy. and then those the chinese traditional stuff. yeah. >> they spent the money? >> oh yeah. >> reporter: before sunrise this morning, ktvu is out with crews from san francisco's public works department as they engage in a massive

damage estimated at $5,000. >>> a campaign underway to clean up china town. as claudine wong reports a focus on illegal dumping could mean heavy fines for some. >> reporter: that sound filled the air this morning as san francisco's china town community celebrated the chinese new year with fire crackers. but that celebration leaves a bit of a mess. >> yeah,. >> you are going to clean it up? >> outreach crews from the department of public works made sure of that as part of a push underway to clean up the neighborhood. >> i told you, make sure they keep their sidewalk clean during business time. >> we have illegal put-out. >> reporter: crews started before dawn and say illegal dumping is rampant in alleys like this one. >> right before chinese new year we see an increase of items put out. >> reporter: in an alley like this, you clean it up, you're going to be back here tomorrow morning, will you find more stuff? >> yes. >> but they also look for the person behind the trash. here they found males. >> this morning all these people will be trying to get in touch wi

this out reach will stop in the next week, and what they see in china town is like what they see all over the town. in san francisco ktvu channel 2 news. >> the marshal floor of san fray -- marble floor of san francisco city turned into a dance floor this afternoon. the city sponsored free dance performs taking place first friday of every month. and don't forget that parade airs live on ktvu channel 2 on february 19th and begins at 6:00 p.m. >>> opening day is more than two months away, but tomorrow 40,000 people are expected to be there for giant's fan fest. there will be ballpark tours, and locker room tours and a viewing of the trophy. some world champions will be there meeting fans. it's a free event. the gates are set to open at 11:00 a.m. >>> well this might be a first for the bay area. twin sisters find an unusual way to enlist in the armed forces that some believe has never been done before. >>> and a warm up is in store for our weekend. meteorologist will tell us what places could reach the 70s. >>> and if there's no tv nearby, just watch bay area news nearby at www.ktvu.com.

. >>> china town is really busy this morning. crews are out there cleaning up for the chinese new year. today they are taking on the problem of illegal dumping. ktvu claudine wong is out there now with the latest with what is happening. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dave. we have talked about illegal dumping. what happens once they celebrate, this is the mess that can be left behind. this is from the fire crackers that have been set off. this is set off in a lot of businesses and homes to scare off the evil spirits. it's a good thing but it leaves a mess behind. we have been following the department of public works crews all morning to see what the cleanup effort is like. we have seen a lot of different things all morning. >> can you have jerry come up? we have an illegal put out. >> reporter: in that alley within the last hour or so we saw a lot of trash pile, old tv, things that have been dumped there. we are not talking about a small quantity all the time. this morning is a pretty good morning. really they say the p

the elderly residents they could find hathey could find and a lot uponed to remain in china town or manilaown. the housing was really very dangerous for many of them because it wasn't home. wasn't like their family or friends protecting them. i think for a lot of them died of a broken heart. if you look at the hotel it was not just a housing struggle it was a fight to open up other things bike a book store and a workshop. the asian american art form. at the same time this was not something that pertained to san francisco it spread. it became a symbol for asian americans all over the country. it was on television with the whole country to see much the struggle to save the hotel was over. both sides continued to maneuver trying to win the real victory hawould have on 848 kerny the impact lasted for 15 years. >> our mission was to get the building up. the e vision was 77 the building went down in 79. after 79 it was a hole in the ground. all the years when it was a hole in the ground nobody knew it was a manila town. this is the manila town district. this is the first community was here in sa

>> my michael and here to talk to you about the china town response plan. an example of an effort between public sectors, private, community based, faith effort to really come together and respond to a unique need. let me tell you about it, it's a public, private and community partnership of 40 organizationings throughout the area. research, training and coaligz building. we are really in a good position to bring all the pieces together. after the 1989 earthquake, we realized that there something needed to be done for the china town residents. there were damage to older buildings. we had older chinese seniors afrayed to leave their home there was language and cultural gaps that existed. so, as a result. some ofur

she is back now live in china town with what is happening. >> reporter: we are one in the alleys of chinaown. cleanup under way from department of public works crew. this is an ongoing effort. what you see in the back of that truck what has been dumped illegal by by residents or businesses here in the area. i'm joined now by mohammed nuro who is the deputy director of public works. this is an ongoing problem all yearlong but it is specifically a bigger problem this time of year. correct? >> that is right. every year around chinese new year we see an increase in the amount of dumping. especially in china town and in many of our alleys. so the department puts in extra effort to make sure these places are clean. >> reporter: they make quick work of this. i want to walk down the street so we can show some of the other problems. one of the traditions is to clear out your house. clean up your house. get everything clean for the start of the new year. is the problem because they don't have treasure service or they just think it's easier to dump it in these alleys? >> it's a combination. a lot of

you know why, because there is a beginning and an ending. >> reporter: chef in china town explains. >> some of the vegetable items actually represent good luck and happiness and joy. there is the -- looks like hair. this is called -- means pro -- prosperity. it's a dry oyster in a let -- lettuce cup. in this case when we say oyster, we say -- in chinese it sounds like good news. then the -- if we eat a lot of them, what are we doing? ha, ha. >> reporter: there is something to it. he's celebrating his 103rd child-free news new year's dinner -- chinese new year's dinner. >> part of the tradition is you cannot cut your hair on that first day of the new year because that is bad luck. also, we can all agree with this one, you're not supposed to do any house work because you're sweeping away all the good luck. >> the interesting stories behind the food, the chicken and fish with the head and the tail and the feet, the beginning and the end. >> it's all about whole and being complete. it's pretty serious. i mean a lot of the chinese call it their thanksgiving. it's a pretty serious holiday.

china town subway project that is about to get under way. impact it will have on all of us. >>> and something that has been recommended for years. may actually tleed childhood obesity. >> forecast center. get ready for another breath of spring in winter. details of the accu-weather forecast coming u up. >> thavrjts also any. bay area man charter member of the super bowl club. probably see the achltd he lives in the bay area. he's been to every single superbowl. that story. >> fined for foul language. should a student have to pay >> fined for foul language. should a student have to pay for swearing >> san francisco is about to begin construction of the central subway. ambitious underground system connecting south of market with union square and china town. item a project that will cause some traffic headaches downtown to be sure where work will start this wednesday. transportation reporter heather has more now on what to expect. >>reporter: the equipment is ready to go. message signs in place. get ready to say goodbye to union square sidewalk

>> my michael and here to talk to you about the china town response plan. an example of an effort between public sectors, private, community based, faith effort to really come together and respond to a unique need. let me tell you about it, it's a public, private and community partnership of 40 organizationings throughout the area. research, training and coaligz building. we are really in a good position to bring all the pieces together. after the 1989 earthquake, we

don sanchez has the story tonight from san francisco china town. >>reporter: this is what they are talking about. the shark caught. fin cut off then the shark thrown back that the ocean. >> all they care about are the fin. so the shark justices spirals down bleeding to the bottom of the ocean where it dies. what a waste of life on earth. >>reporter: and he says it it wreaking havoc on the ecology. >> this is like a deck of card cards. we knock them over the whole lot goes behind it. >>reporter: shark fin is considered a delicacy and it is pricey. up to 85 dollars a bowl. economic boom in china any creased demand there. shark population is declining. assembly members say their legislation is aim at reducing demand. >> we are trying to give a message to the rest of the world that shark fip is not healthy. >>reporter: state senator yee says while he's opposed to illegal fining he will fight the legislation because it is incentive to chin he's culture. >> solution is over reaching one and what we are saying is find a better solution rather than somethi

this is part of the coronation ball for miss china town usa and her court. a san francisco native and usf law school student. >> as a goodwill ambassador i hope to engage the youth. >> reporter: the director gave us an up-close look at the golden dragon that symbolizes strength and wealth. tomorrow, 120 men and women will hoist up the drag bonn and carry -- dragon. the dragon was made specifically to be 268 long. in chinese, the numbers 2, 6, and 8 sound like the phrase "easy to prosper." >> the celebrations are full of symbolism. >> reporter: he said he never thought he would become the first chinese-american mayor for the city and serve as the parade's grand marshall tomorrow. >> i'm at a point now where i can do my job in opening doors for other people, women of different color, for more asians, for the sub-groups of asians and for african americans and latinos. >> reporter: these performers travel to san francisco from china specifically for the parade. organizers estimate up to 800,000 people may line the parade routes. we're all keeping our fingers cro

the subway will connect to china town. the transportation agency apologizes for the inconvenience. but the reward is worth the benefit. >> central subway is the extension of the t3 line. rail extension service. starts at the caltrans station. that's a surface street station. >> reporter: the project won't be finished till 2018. reggie kumar, kron 4 news. >>> another road closure right now on interstate 80. work on a new hov lane is taking place between highway 4 and the cummings skyway off ramp. additional closures will shut down willow on friday. >>> temperatures already falling off steadily. look at napa, 33 degrees. trung in santa rosa. 44 in fairfield. it's going be a chilly night as temperatures continue to drop off. a frost emorning, cold temperatures, lot of 30s. temperatures will recover into the afternoon. we will warm up a couple more degrees over what we saw today. temperatures about average for this time a year. i will detail this morning for you and changes for the weekend all coming up in a bit. >>> a robbery caught on camera on [ male announcer ] breakfast for breakf

this is part of the coronation ball for miss china town usa and her court. a san francisco native and usf law school student. >> as a goodwill ambassador i hope to engage the youth. >> reporter: the director gave us an up-close look at the golden dragon that symbolizes strength and wealth. tomorrow, 120 men and women will hoist up the drag bonn and carry -- dragon. the dragon was made specifically to be 268 long. in chinese, the numbers 2, 6, and 8 sound like the phrase "easy to prosper." >> the celebrations are full of symbolism. >> reporter: he said he never thought he would become the first chinese-american mayor for the city and serve as the parade's grand marshall tomorrow. >> i'm at a point now where i can do my job in opening doors for other people, women of different color, for more asians, for the sub-groups of asians and for african americans and latinos. >> reporter: these performers travel to san francisco from china specifically for the parade. organizers estimate up to 800,000 people may line the parade routes. we're all keeping our fingers cro

we hardly go to china town. >> in a casual way, they had fun with his body. they chained him to the back of the car and did fish tails. forensic evidence suggests his body came loose and they rechained him after rolling back over him to get him. now most of us heard about this. something we don't hear, dragged to death we assume it was -- >> like this. chained to the bumper of a truck. that's not true. it's like this. chained the back of the truck. watching the road behind him as he goes. this poem is called big thicket. jasper, texas. >> to big thicket a crack is a buck shot, a stick broke, cracked headlights. crack, the big thicket we go 2 sticks. drink, drink, light, light. stagger in the road. statistic o statistic broke. the light, buck shot light. >> buck on stagger. what you looking at. the white stick. along the trees, along the trees. the buck staggering home. the crack. big thicket. what are you doing here? >> stick broke. white light. break for home. white homing. ha, ha, go, go, buck shot, kra e crack, crack, crack. hit lights. what you think you

missing art work from a china town hot spot of the 1950s is back. investigators made at nunsment today. we first reported the story, last night. back in the 50s. restaurant in san francisco china town was the hot spot. look at photos. marilyn monroe, frank sinatra were wreck lars. the owner, commissioned jake lee to create a series of 12 paintings depicting rare scenes of chinese history in california. those works of art disappeared when the restaurant closed in 1990. 11 of the pieces were brought back and bought back from an auction house in pass dena. now, the recovered pieces of art will be shown to the public beginning this weekend at chinese historical so stipt team of america which is located in chinatown. just in time for chinese new year. >> we haven't had a lot of rain around here. across the country record snowfall caused plenty of frustration and despair. >> not such a bad thing. as christie nelson shows us, lousy weather across the country kept more couples in the house. >> okay. >> going down this road. >> and in each other's arms openi

two hour festivity wound through the streets of san francisco and ended as always in china town. >> ifou missed that parade attend today's san francisco vietnamese festival. market street downtown, it features arts, crafts, live music, cultural performances celebrating the year of the cat admission is free, 10 to 5:00 p.m. >> jim if we head down to san jose what is the weather going on the like? >> better as we see cold showers moving off leaving us with a cold start to the day a lot more sunshine expected san jose and elsewhere around the bay resulting in slightly warmer temperatures and much drier than yesterday around the bay. >> i am looking forward to giving the umbrella a break. it has been a brutal week especially the news reporter out on the streets and sent to go find the rain. >> you did a good job slipping around mount hamilton. >> thanks jim. >> that is it for the weekend early edition. >> hope you enjoy the rest of your sunday and maybe you have president's day off tomorrow as well. enjoy that. face the nation coming up next on cbs 35 cb 5 ,,,,,,,, >> schieffer: today on "

. >> i have a group in town down and china town and the north tunnel.ble] the graffiti we abate everything is coming up to the areas now. >> i'm willing to take it on. i think -- >> you are telling me you are ready for this? >> i think so. >> okay. >> there you go. >> all right. >> all right. >> ready to do it. let's go. >> want to get the gray signses this over here and the garbage can and normally we don't do private property since it's on the corridor route you can come with me we will use black. >> we had a lot of changes in the graffiti unit. we do private property if someone moved we remove it and send it to the attorney's office and they take appropriate action. >> damage their property there. it's important to write the color in case they want to say what part of our house you abated the graffiti on. >> using your safety glasses the gloves. >> you got it. >> you know some places we gashi, people appreciate that. you know, a lot of timeses they say, thank you. >> the time where it's visible. a lot of people put it on the ground. >> i like when to

the parade will feature marching bands, line dancers and china town. lit take place -- it will take place february 19th. you can watch live coverage here. >>> today is your first chance to get regular season tickets for the world champion san francisco giants. tickets officially went on sale at 10:00 this morning but only if you have a visa credit card. giants are giving visa card holders the first opportunity to buy regular season tickets on the giant's website before they gone sale to the general public. this online deal only lasts until 11:59 tomorrow night. regular season tickets for the general public go on sale there saturday at 9:00 a.m. after getting your tickets head over to at&t park. giants are hosting fan fest. while there you can get photographs from giant's team members and sit on the dugout. you can take a picture with the team's world series trophy. admission is free. gates open at 11:00 a.m. >>> it is a day the fans of am -- apple and verizon waited a long time to see. >>> also, why customers are taking the safeway supermarket chain to

. >> we even had to truck two from china town. they were coming in as a cover company. they were covering station six on sanchez street that got deployed right away to this incident. >> reporter: tonight the fire department is warning castro residents to keep their eyes open and report any suspicious activity in hopes of preventing any more fires. david stevenson, ktvu news. >>> oakland firefighters are raising money to help a 7-year- old girl who survived an apartment fire that killed her mother, 3-year-old sister and a neighbor. firefighters say they hope the fund will financially support allyson for years to come. an extension cord sparked that deadly fire last month. >> as long as we tried, there's nothing we could do to change the outcome on the night of the fire. but today we hope to begin healing as we step back into allyson's life to make sure she has a chance with all of us by her side. >> reporter: the little girl is from el salvador and is currently in foster care. >>> a dispensary will meet with state officials to dispute a $6 million tax bill. a representat

we hardly go to china town. before i came here, i held his hand. now my heart is a chinese box of riddels, no one understands. i blew hot soup for her on foggy nights. she trims the ends of my thinning hair, still she can't forget that day she faced the interrogation officers and said she was my sister. i have not told anyone we move like shadows in a haze of secrets and lies. now stairs fascinate her. she knows the neighbor's house by heart. 21 steps to the door. 9 windows. 1-1/2 bathrooms. she counts every timely visit just to make sure. in case one day she has to know. before i came here, i had a name. >> ships of wind. softly size the swaying trees in the secret place stilled by time. we toil between the deep brown earth crumbs past frommant toant in orderly procession surrounded by crushed new born grass and flattened flowers. many of us have died here. who's secret [inaudible] we do not know. nor the shift of wind the sudden wake that blocked the sun changes the course and brought with it the endless nights. we enl know the passing of formles

. >>> china town had a team of hard working volunteers to thank for making the area more beautiful.olunteers spent this morning gardening, getting rid of graffiti, picking up litter and painting. the public works department asked them to come out to celebrate chinese new year by making the city clean and green. ed lee kicked off the day's event. >> i want to make sure everybody knows that beautifying our neighborhood is the number one objective of our team, but building that partnership is so important throughout the city. we will do more of that in this coming year. >> this was the city's first committee team of the year. a performance by chinese lion dancers where their reward for a hard day's work. >> the south bay got into the spirit of chinese new year with a celebration at santana row. revelers listened to booming drum beats and crashing beats, as well as other chinese performances. chinese new year floats circled the shopping center so everyone could get a personal closeup look at them. >>> no change tonight in the condition of oscar winning actress, elizabeth taylor. the 78-

hundreds of people brave the cold weather to gather in new york city's china town to mark the year of rabbit. spectators enjoy traditional chinese music and dragon dancing. the fest ifts went out with a bang. confetti flew and firecrackers went off around the crowded streets. >>> well, parts of the country see snowfall as a major inconvenience. these two see it as an inspiration. for the connecticut mechanics turned artists the unrelenting snow has become their canvas. armed with pop sickle sticks and cans of spray paint, the duo has found a way to combat the snow. they paid homage to their favorite sports team and design aid car complete with rims. lovely, very creative. i still say get the snow out of here. i'm done. >> i loved everything until he showed me the patriots logo. as a jets fan, i don't really like those dpiz guys. >> sorry about that. you're going to get some calls from boston, though. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. there will be a hearing for a california man accused of plotting to blow up a detroit area mosqu

. >> reporter: the parade begins at 2nd and market and runs through china town where restaurants are expected to be packed tomorrow night. >> we are already prepared, everything. we expect a lot of people coming. >> reporter: numerous streets will be closed tomorrow, so the best advice is to take public transportation. the parade begins at 5:15, rain or shine. channel 2 news. >>> and as rob mentioned, you can watch the parade live here at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow night. we will host. and we will be streaming the parade live online at ktvu.com. >>> part of san francisco's fort was briefly evacuated this morning when a park visitor came across some marine flairs. that person contacted san francisco police. crews used a backhoe to dig a hole. they are usually used to send disstress signals at sea. >>> how a little robot that acts like a small bird has taken the art of spying to new heights. >>> we could see big changes by the end of the weekend. mark will have your forecast. >>> alaska airlines is set to offer bay area travelers a few more flights to hawaii this spring. beginning june 5th, th

this man is suspecteled of beating and sexually assaulting a woman near oakland's china town on februaryth. detectives are trying to determine if the attack is linked to three other assaults on women late last year. they happened just east of lake merritt not far from the scene of this assault. if you recognize this man, call oakland police. >> this morning in sacramento, governor jerry brown will address the state's budget conference committee after a new taxpayer caucus yesterday aimed at stopping anymore tax increases. the caucus may be willing to support governor brown's proposal for temporary taxes for five years if he also gives taxpayers the option of cutting taxes by the same amount. >> the message is that tax increases are counterproductive, tax increases take us the wrong direction. >> we could raise an additional seven, almost $8 billion in tax revenue for california. >> also yesterday democratic assemblyman introduced a tax for high income earners and additional 1%, the same social programs that the poor rely on. california faces a $26.6 billion budget deficit. >> bart direct

that will be applied to businesses in 120 block downtown area that includes jack london square and china town. it offers things like technical assistance and cash rebates to help pay for things like energy efficient lighting, to improve heating and air conditioning and up to 50 to 90% of the cost to get those improvements done. the city is also looking to try and grab new which is and get them interested in coming to the city. if it works, the businesses could see a 20% drop in their energy use, businesses can go and apply for this right now. it is up on line. you can go to the website oakland shines.com. that's the latest from here. live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the east bay." >> thank you very much. let's turn to weather. it is a strange story across the country. a tale of two cities. let's check in with christina. >> it is. it's really abnormal to see such warm temperatures for us on the west coast and all of the heavy snow and bitter cold on the east coast. but our atmosphere and the earth is trying to reach equal lip brie yum. 50 degrees in oakland. i talk about temperatures

. >> reporter: reporting live in oakland china town, amber lee, ktvu news. >>> an arbitrator has ordered -- rejected the woman's alleges of being raped by gresett. gresset gets his job back but is still facing rape charges. >>> the widow of a contra costa firefighters is set to receive $15 million. scott desmond was one of four people killed in 2007 during a house fire in san pablo. desmond widow sued a company because they called police and failed to include that there was a fire. >>> detectives say jul iani's grandmother tried to block rodriguez from forcing his way through a garage into the family's home. rodriguez pushed her down, held her down with his knee and grabbed juliani while he yelled, no daddy, no daddy. rodriguez helped raise juliani since he was a child. >>> ktvu cameras went inside the new death chamber last september. back >> he asked questions, he didn't portray any opinions or any emotional one way or the other. he did say at the end of the hearing that he wanted to wrap this up as soon as possible. nonetheless he's had this case for six years. >> judge vogel says he

. >> reporter: this weekend's clean up in china town coincide was chinese new year. more than 500 lent a hand. >> they point out the priorities, the most traveled on every day. >> reporter: the people who live nearby help determine which spots need the overhall, some sprucing up or a new look all together. in san francisco, ktvu channel 2news. >> a group of war widows touring san francisco. it may bring up images of older women today's are young like so many of the troops killed in iraq and afghanistan. deborah is live. >> reporter: they had dinner here off union square, some strangers until this weekend but part of a tight sister hood. it's hard to laugh, hard to smile when you know that you your 20 something year old husband can't do it. >> reporter: the youngest is 20, the oldest 41. women sharing favorite valentine's day story. >> i always knew you were going to be my wife. >> reporter: when talk of their husbands killed in war brings tears that's okay too. >> this will always be the most important moment in their life that changed everything. >> reporter: a wido

. >> reporter: reporting live in oakland china town, amber lee, ktvu news. >>> an arbitrator has orderedcted the woman's alleges of being raped by gresett. gresset gets his job back but is still facing rape charges. >>> the widow of a contra costa firefighters is set to receive $15 million. scott desmond was one of four people killed in 2007 during a house fire in san pablo. desmond widow sued a company because they called police and failed to include that there was a fire. >>> detectives say jul iani's grandmother tried to block rodriguez from forcing his way through a garage into the family's home. rodriguez pushed her down, held her down with his knee and grabbed juliani while he yelled, no daddy, no daddy. rodriguez helped raise juliani since he was a child. >>> ktvu cameras went inside the new death chamber last september. back >> he asked questions, he didn't portray any opinions or any emotional one way or the other. he did say at the end of the hearing that he wanted to wrap this up as soon as possible. nonetheless he's had this case for six years. >> judge vogel says he plans to

reporter: these remote control fire crackers are a new gadget he found just eight days ago in a china town'sstore. the 50-foot long creation named every chinese features characters made of carved styrofoam. >> some of these characters made just eight days ago. some still have paint drying on them. >> reporter: what kind of reaction do you want? >> i just want their jaws to drop. that's all. >> reporter: carmen chu, a chinese american will also be in the parade. >> it's a proud moment to showcase and share with the community a big celebration. chinese new year is a very important time in my family and always has been. >> reporter: back here live, crews plan to test the electronics on these floats tomorrow. workers will move the floats out of this warehouse to the start of the parade route by noon on saturday. amber lee, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and as always you can watch saturday's parade live on ktvu channel 2, our coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. chief meteorologist bill martin will be here in two minutes to tell us if we should expect rain on the parade. >>> honda is recalling 690,000 sub com

reporter: these remote control fire crackers are a new gadget he found just eight days ago in a china town'sstore. the 50-foot long creation named every chinese features characters made of carved styrofoam. >> some of these characters made just eight days ago. some still have paint drying on them. >> reporter: what kind of reaction do you want? >> i just want their jaws to drop. that's all. >> reporter: carmen chu, a chinese american will also be in the parade. >> it's a proud moment to showcase and share with the community a big celebration. chinese new year is a very important time in my family and always has been. >> reporter: back here live, crews plan to test the electronics on these floats tomorrow. workers will move the floats out of this warehouse to the start of the parade route by noon on saturday. amber lee, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and as always you can watch saturday's parade live on ktvu channel 2, our coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. chief meteorologist bill martin will be here in two minutes to tell us if we should expect rain on the parade. >>> honda is recalling 690,000 sub com

> it was not too long ago if you happened to be chinese you could not go to a school outside of china town. worse yet you couldn't even attend a school whatsoever. find a better solution rather than something that takes away from our culture and heritage. >> this is shredded sharks fin. >> reporter: yee and the shark fin soup supporters say it's time to cut out throwing the sharks back into the ocean. the right way is by processing the entire shark not just the fin. >> wouldn't it lessen is demand therefor help the shark population. >> if we wanted to take that approach, then we ought to then ban the importation of you know any clothes that may be duplicated or counter fitted. any movies and any other products. >> really two distinct sides of the argument for this shark fin soup. defendsers defenders say this is a delicacy. and opponents say it's a threat to shark. and if you get rid of the sharks that's going to disrupt the whole ecosystem. >> so where are they going to go from here. >> i already know one legislator that's not going to vote for it that's senator yee. >> that's true. maybe

tens of thousand of people expected in china town this saturday night for the big parade. floats will be a big part of the largest chinese new year parade out of mainland china. over 100 different types of floats, different kinds of things, will participate. it might rain. and guess what? people always go any way. >> the parade will happen. rain or shine. you have a lot of ex-planing to do. and we are looking at some rain, this weekend. but it may hold off, for the chinese -- new year's parade. president's day coming up on the monday. it was wet, wide. windy. top wind gusts in los gatos, 62 miles an hour. san francisco airport. but those wind have died down. wind only 15 miles per hour. san jose. 34 mile per hour wind gust tuesday. also in the east bay. up into the 20s. low 30s. however we did manage sunshine by the afternoon with a mixed bag forecast, afternoon hours. over the past hour. a nice little respite from the very, very busy morning we had out there. and the temperatures close to the upper 40s for a lot of the north bay. dropping quickly. and the cloud cover out t

this year the parade starts at second and market street and ends up on columbus avenue in china town.g to tie up traffic closing part of market. so we'll take b.a.r.t. that's what's going on "today in the bay," you have yourself a great one. ♪ [ female announcer ] starbucks via is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via taste promise. look for it where you buy groceries. >>> here's how we're waking up this morning, cold temperatures in some spots and snow at some very low elevations, we'll talk with rob for your full forecast. with weather like this, the best thing really is to slow down, but even when you're at your driving best, slick roads can make you hit the skids. >> plenty of water, concrete, very slippery, tires that have been allowed to go bald, all the makings of the wet roads course. today we want t

. >> reporter: china town is known for the shark fish soup. but this famous dish is under attack.ay, a state assemblyman introduced legislation banning the sale of shark fish in california. >> without banning the sale and possession of shark fins we're not doing much. >> reporter: federal and state laws already ban the harvesting of shark fish in the u.s. waters but that hadn't stopped the import of dried shark fish in countries like mexico and china. >> you can ban the practice in u.s. waters but the practice will just take place elsewhere and if you haven't banned the importation and sale of the product it will continue to happen. >> reporter: environmentalists say the practice of fishing sharks has led to the killing of thousands of sharks worldwide. many are finned and dumped into the sea alive. >> you cut the fins off and throw them into a box and take this large, 2, 300-pound animal and throw it over the side. >> reporter: but this proposed ban is butting up against thousands of years of tradition in the community. >> more and more, examples of where individuals or groups of

crews have been digging up the street for a line that will run from masconi center to china town. mayor ed lee said the transit authority listed the central subway among the highest rated projects. he pointed to an allocation from president obama's budget proposal. >>> we want to go live back to sfo, where in a few minutes president obama will be touching down. what you are looking at there is marine 1. he's going to be taken to a dinner. basically some of the most powerful and wealthy people in the bay area. by my count two or three billionaires in that count. they will be talking about jobs and how to create more jobs. there are three helicopters at sfo. the reason they do that is so that people do not know which helicopter the president is actually flying on. again he is due in five minutes early at 5:40 when the plane touches down we will show it to you live. >>> an oakland man credited with saving a dog was honored today. vince baltas secretly video taped his neighbor beating his pit bull blueberry. he then took that tape to the police. >> violent crime is usually associated

energy commission, this really for all which ises in the downtown including jack lemmon square and china town offers technical assistance and even cash in the pocket to help cover the cost of installing some of this equipment you want to 50% to 90% of the cost to some of these projects will be paid for. businesses can start applying now. the information at oakland shines.com. reporting live, christie smith, "today in the bay." >> thank you, christie, for the update. live in oakland. >> it is 5:51. we want to take you live to egypt where we're getting amazing live pictures from the area where the protests continue. we have seen them escalate this morning. we thought it was going to be a quiet day. you can see protesters are out there and police with batons, the president said that he will not seek re-election. both sides on the streets in mass. you see people throwing things and it's really an amazing scene to see how quickly it has escalated. >> they have been fearing this that this would escalate. so far it's relatively peaceful and the military did ramp up its present but promised not to in

last night jackson street attack took place near the china town border. on january 18th a man attacked a woman in a residential area off lake shore avenue a she walked home in the early evening. she was sexually assaulted and robbed. and twice on the same day in september 2 more women were attacked and robbed near the lake. one in the 1400 block of third avenue. the other at east 18 street and lake shore avenue. >> we have to look into whether or not the sexual assault are connected. but at this time it doesn't appear that they are. >>reporter: investigators believe the motive in last night beating and assault is different from the other 3. most recent victim was not robbed. non-rape sexual assault are down 54 percent in oakland. this time last year there were 61. 28 so far this year. about but around the lake where people come to stroll and exercise the attacks are frightening. police say women shouldn't be scared. just vigilant and observant of their surroundings. >> is good. in afternoon. at night, i don't know. >> going to make habit of doing it aroun

. >> truck back out now is from china town. truck in front is from pobling. this is from fourth.d outside company coming in to put the fire out this. >>reporter: fire at 17th and hartford also involved a residential building but under renovation. no one is living here. it did threaten the building next door. >> i went and checked on the back window and looked next door and whole back of the building was on fire. so we just got out. >>reporter: firefighters called arson investigators as soon as they put out the fires. >> person that we thought about being suspicious, you had 2 fires within a block of each other within an hour. >>reporter: firefighters aren't the only ones with their suspicion. >> power switch is right there. so there is no power to the building. there is no power in that corner of the building. so it is clear that somebody did this. >>reporter: no one was hurt in these fires. arson investigators aren't willing to say yet if they are all connected but they do their theory. in san francisco, abc 7 news. >>> the manager of san rafael pizza shop and former employee we

. >> host: president hu jintao china is in town. that is one of the -- china has been in the news quite a bit when it comes to tolkien indications policies and social media. what is the u.s. position when it comes to the chinese government and its view of essentially private technology? >> guest:well, we have as we like to say a very broad but comprehensive relationship with our chinese friends. there are a lot of areas where we have significant agreements and where our interactions we think are being very productive. it is one of the most essential relationships on the planet and one that may be among the most important in the 21st century to see work out well. so it is something we work at very hard on a continuing basis. we have issues with the chinese that we are very frank about with respect both to the free flow of information within china and also with respect to chinese respect for intellectual property rights. these are issues that we discuss with them. we discussed them on a regular basis and we discussed them in a very fra

are expected to flock to the area for chinese new year events and claudine wong has been out in china townatest on -- what are they doing and what are they focusing on? >> reporter: they've been very butcy. we're on stockton street. things are picking up. lot of the businesses are opening up. the workers have been coming up here specifically right at this time because they want to talk to those business owners and make sure that these business owners are a part of keeping this area clean. >> reporter: that's the sound of the fire crackers in chinatown this morning. it's a a sound we've been hearing all -- it's a sound we've been hearing all morning long and they are starting the day off with a bake for good luck. that makes a mess and -- bang for good luck and so they are out there reminding everyone to clean up. >> reporter: the department of public works says it's not going to cite people for the mess left by those fire crackers. it doesn't want to punish people for celebrating. they say the response has been good this morning. >> i did speak to him in chinese, that you need to keep this