a christmas season scam showed up at this el cerrito safeway. some shoppers got wind of it from a police text alert. >> call police if you are approached by someone saying you hit their car. >> reporter: jasper holt doesn't need an alert. he saw the scam in action as he was collecting donations for homeless vet rans out front. he says one of the victims asked him where he could find an atm. >> what do you need a tell are for? he said his old lady out here said her daughter said i run over her mother and i need $200. >> reporter: here's how the scam works. when a car drives by, one of the women pounds on it making a loud noise. the other woman approaches the driver saying you hit her with your car and now we need money for medical bills. >> i said no, i wouldn't do that. i would call the police. i wouldn't give them no money. >> reporter: el cerrito police say two women seem to be targeting older men. in one case they followed the victim to his home demanding $1,200. >> you know, there's people out there that are willing to do anything. >> report

. >>> reporter: a christmas season scam showed up at this el cerrito safeway. some shoppers got wind of it from a police text alert. >> call police if you are approached by someone saying you hit their car. >> reporter: jasper holt doesn't need an alert. he saw the scam in action as he was collecting donations for homeless veterans out front. he says one of the victims asked him where he could find an atm. >> what do you need it for? he says old lady out here said her daughter say i run over her mother. and i needs $200. >> reporter: here's how the scam works. when a car drives by, one of the women pounds on it making a loud noise. the other woman approaches the driver saying, you hit her with your car. and now we need money for medical bills. >> ha. i said no, i wouldn't do that. i would call the police. i wouldn't give them no money. >> reporter: el cerrito police say two women seem to be targeting older men and in one case follow the victim to his home demanding $1,200. >> well, you know, there's people out there that are willing to do anything. >> reporter:

police received reports of three separate incidents at the el cerrito plaza shopping center.each case, a woman approached a man and claimed that he had hit her with his car. the woman and an accomplice demanded money for medical treatment. when the men refused, the suspects ran off. anyone with information, call police. >>> a new poll shows senator dianne feinstein's approval rating at its lowest levels in years. 43%. that is a sharp drop from a year ago when it was at 53%. meanwhile senator barbara boxer's approval rating has improved to its highest level in more than three years. as for congress in general, californians really don't like the job they are doing. the approval levels are at 11%, near a record low. >>> a police chase ends in a horrific crash on live television and that's not all. it's what happened next that has lapd facing a lot of questions. >> and iran takes another shot into space. how a monkey helped make it happen. >> we had a record high here in the bay area today. santa rosa 64 degrees with sunshine. 60s morgan hill, san carlos at 62 degrees and also da

police received reports of three incidents yesterday all from people shopping in el cerrito. the scam attempts to trick drivers into believing that they hit a car and a fake victim demands cash. the police say in two cases the women followed their targets. when the men called police, the women disappeared. >> it's a scam that frightens older people like me. >> reporter: one suspect is described as a white-aired woman between 50 and 75 years old and police say the other woman is around 40 years old and their getaway car may be a blue, honda suv. >>> fire commanders based at san francisco international airport are scheduled to get more training on how to respond to airplane crashes following the asiana accident. ard could to the san francisco chronicle, the fire department will send commanders to 40 to 80-hour course on how to deal with plane dispatchers. cousin is taught at the fire training research center at dallas-fort worth international airport. a 16-year-old asiana passenger who ended up on the ground and covered with flame-retardant foam was killed when two fire rigs ra

reporting in el cerrito, alesha reid, kron4 news. >>> there are major changes to ac transit lines, moreirect routes for certain lines. there's also an increased frequency and longer hours on other lines. for more information on the new bus services, you can visit actransit.org. >>> the chronicle reporting this morning that alameda county and a health care company will pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit after an inmate died when a sheriff's deputy tased him. the lawsuit was filed by one of the former inmate's children. the man killed was 50-year-old martin harrison. he had been arrested by oakland police for allegedly driving while intoxicated. while in custody, the chronicle reports two deputies shocked harrison after they saw -- they say that he was out of control. harrison was said to have died due to a lack of oxygen to the brain after the confrontation. >>> firefighters came to the rescue of a fallen horseback rider in daly city. officials received a report of a cliff rescue and they say they found the horse had fallen onto the rider after the person was thrown from the horse. this

first responders in richmond and el cerrito, they want your help. they are trying to make sure every kid gets a present under their tree this year. ♪ >>> music warmed many hearts over the weekend, including one man who heard his daughter sing for the first time. ashley says her dad who has been deaf for 30 years just received a hearing aid that allows him to her her if she's wearing a special microphone. she was not sure it was gonna work. but when he hugged her after the song, shoe knew he heard her. >> we asked that it not be in the program. it was gonna be a complete surprise. >> sur -- a complete surprise. >>> first responders in richmond and el cerrito, they need help raising money to make sure thousands of kids get christmas toys this year. firefighters say donations have been slow. so far they've only been able to raise about a quarter of what they need. organizers say they are opening to get a big push this week to help them make sure there is a happy holiday for 1700 families. >> it's a little slow. i don't know if it's the economy, but we

---la policia de el cerrito, en el este de la bahia, busca a un sospechoso de intentar arrebatar un bolsol intento de robo ocurrio el pasado viernes por la tarde en la cuadra 400 de la calle kearney... ---segun las autoridades, el presunto ladron jalo el bolso de la mujer, pero esta saco una olla que acababa de comprar y golpeo al sujeto quien echo a correr... ---si cree reconocer al sospechoso, comuniquese con la policia... topvo cesar ---ya fue identificado el cuerpo que fue encontrando flotando en las aguas frente al parque de beisbol "at and t" de san francisco el mes pasado... ---segun el medico forense, se trata de paulo netto de 22 anos de edad y de origen brasileno, quien habia sido reportado como extraviado por sus familiares que habian viajado desde sudamerica.. ---netto desaparecio la noche del 28 de octubre tras llamar a su familia para decirles que estaba metido en un lio y alguien queria hacerle dano... cesar ---en east palo alto, la policia continua investigando una balacera que dejo como saldo dos heridos ayer por la noche... take map ---segun las autoridades, las victimas

." >> el cerrito police are asking for help in finding a man who got more than he bargained governor when he snatched a purse. when a man walked up and grabbed the woman's purr she pulled out a pod and ship the suspect with the pod she just bought. she did not get her purse back but convinced the robber to run away. >> developing news, pg&e restored power after a major outage and 11,000 customers were without power at the peak of the outage starting before 8:00 this morning and affected volume formers in lafayette. a squirrel got too close to some equipment. >> state population report shows that more people moved to alameda and stand clear county than any other counties in the state. the california department of finance says that alameda county saw more than 15,000 newcomers bringing the county's population to just over 1.5 million. santa clara was not far behind with 111.,500 -- 11,500 new a major change for target. they now admit encrypted pins were taken by hackers in the breach that span three weeks of the holiday season. target says they are confident that the numbers are safe a

and i needs $200. >> el cerrito police say two women seemed to be targeting older men. in one case, they followed a victim to his home demanding $1,200. but when police arrived, the women left empty-handed. the suspects may be driving a blue 2003 honda crv. >>> the senate is scheduled to vote today to begin debate on a bipartisan budget bill. democrats need help from republicans in order to gain the 60 votes needed to move forward. if that happens, it's virtually assured the budget will pass and be signed into law. the bill would ease the effects of across-the-board spending cuts known as the questionsster. it would also say -- sequester. it would save $23 billion over 10 years. >>> new this morning, secretary of state john kerry is visiting the philippines. he is there to show american support for the country. kerry pledged $32.5 million to help the philippines, vietnam and other southeast asian countries protect their territorial waters as tensions with china increase. tomorrow kerry will visit areas hard hit by the deadly typhoon. >>> time now 5:10. santa's skin colo

a pair of women targeted several drivers of this el cerrito safeway parking lot. here's how it works. a driver pulls into the lot, one of the women pounds on the back of the car pretending she was hit. both suspects then demand cash from the driver for medical bills. a witness says one of the victims came up to him looking for an atm. >> what do you need a teller for? he said, well, this old lady out here said her daughter said i run over her mother. and i needs $200. >> el cerrito police say two women seemed to be targeting older men. in one case, they followed a victim to his home demanding $1,200. but when police arrived, the women left empty-handed. the suspects may be driving a blue 2003 honda crv. >>> the senate is scheduled to vote today to begin debate on a bipartisan budget bill. democrats need help from republicans in order to gain the 60 votes needed to move forward. if that happens, it's almost certain the budget will pass and be signed into law. the bill eases the effects of the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester. it also saves $23

participate in studies there, as well as research subjects who came from the bay area-wide, covering the el cerrito and albany rehabilitation centers for the blind, as well as the fremont school for the blind. among those populations they come from east bay and if they are the blind clients the no. 3 is the easiest route to explain. plus it's also used as a kind of prototyping, a trail for blind students, young, blind students, to learn mobility. some of the projects we have there have to do with designing devices for blind people and they often come from the east bay, as well as other places. so i think that the number 3 is useful enough in order not to complicate routes, and so forth, for our participation at smith-kettlewell. thank you [ applause ] >> thank you, next speaker, please. [ reading speakers' names ] >> good afternoon. >> good afternoon, john decastro from the neighborhood association. a couple of things that i wanted to comment on. the eastern neighborhoods plan called for approximately 3500 housing units to be approved by 2015 in potrero hill and dog patch. it's going to be a proble

the school in el cerrito is already updating its locker rooms and bathrooms. >> we understand that teense lot of issue and stress. as they are going through puberty and their own adolescent growth, they need outlets, especially for a transgender student. >> the first of its kind statute could still be sis sended. >>> who of our coworkers witnessed this chase and stopped a bank robber. he got tripped upright in front of our building on battery street in san francisco. take another look. as this suspected bank robber with the gray shirt and backpack takes off running. you may have noticed the surprised faces of cam are men in the van. nobody was hurt. >>> they couldn't stop a man dressed as a woman from wandering onto a runway in newark, new jersey. police say he was never a threat to any planes but it brings into question an advanced security system that missed a breach in new york's jfk airport. >> it is very disturbing there continue to be different breaches at the different airports in the port authority jurisdiction. >> the airport says this time the system worked. investigators are l

. >>> el cerrito police are warning shoppers about a scam where women target elderly men. there have been three reports of the city shop center so far and in each case a woman approached a man and claimed that he had hit her with his car. the woman and an accomplice demand money for medical treatment and when the man refuses the suspects run away. anyone with information should call police. >>> a string of robberies near the uc-berkeley campus has police and students on alert. there have been five thefts in the area recently. the thieves were armed and three of them. police say they have increased foot patrols in the area and are working with berkeley police on a joint robbery suppression team. uc officials say robberies on campus are actually down from last year. >>> health experts are considering an unlicensed vaccine to prevent the spread of meningitis at uc-santa barbara. four students were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis last month. three recovered. the fourth had both feet amputated. government and school officials are trying to determine if the vaccine bexsero w

and sacred heart prep blew out el cerrito last saturday but today once again the underdogs squaring off with unbeaten corona del mar in the division iii state title game. a rough start for the gay stores and quarterback -- gators and quarterback randall is picked off for a pick 6. sacred heart prep down 21-0 after one. late in the second, ben bercurving check out the moves, squeezes through the line and runs it in from 47 yards out for the touchdown. shp trailed by six at the half. the gators had a chance to take the lead in the third. randall rolls out on the scram. but is -- scramble but is stripped from behind. one of three turnovers by prep. their dream season falls short and they lose 24-15. >>> bowl season is underway. new usc head coach steve sarkisian watching fresno state. big day for kessler. a touchdown pass to open up the scoring against fresno state. olestra januaries first in the first half -- all trojans first in the first half. lee does the heavy lifting and runs in the second touchdown. lee of course eligible for the nfl draft though. likely his time playing his final g

stores and restaurants in el cerrito, richmond and san pablo will no longer provide free plastic bags for purchases. many will have paper bags though available for a small fee. but customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags. >>> several new state laws are taking effect in the new year. teenaged drivers will be banned from texting while driving even with hands-free devices. students could be suspended or expelled for cyber bullying and the state minimum wage jumps to $9 in july. there's a spate of new gun control laws set to take effect. there is a ban on high capacity conversion kits for ammunition magazines. safe storage requirements for handguns, and new firearms possessions restrictions for people who are mentally ill. >>> still ahead, he knows his name. but not much more. >> i have been struggling with this and i just been so frustrated. >> a bay area man's quest to find himself and his forgotten past. >> plus, it's about time. after nearly 70 years a beautiful bay area timepiece will finally be running like clockwork. ,, sofa... desk... you know what? why don't you

three days in a row for el cerrito, been below freezing. petaluma, 19.bubba the tortoise out there in petaluma, he said frost on the hut there. so, it's cold out there. glen ellen, 27 and loma mar, pescadero. napa was close. the breeze definitely held up. san francisco for those of you who live in the city. coldest low in 15 years. it made it to 34 at michael's place. teen, 20s. the freeze warning ends in ten minutes. we'll pick it up tonight. still 21 in santa rosa. name, 23. there's the breeze holding -- antioch, i know livermore, concord, they've had a pretty steady breeze. i will tell you, that gets the windchill at 25, concord, 6. oakland, 14 miles an hour. it's 33, 34 degrees. that's cold. there's the east at cold at lirl. sfo, palo alto, mountain view. palo alto airport had an east wind at 14. that put the windchill at 28. 10 below in tahoe. reno was 1. a lot of teens and 20s up in the lake county and mendocino county. it will be sunny. we get component of an offshore breeze. it looks like low 60s showing up after thursday into friday. today, 40s,

stores and restaurants in el cerrito, richmond and san pablo will no longer provide free plastic bags for purchases. many will have paper bags though available for a small fee. but customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags. >>> several new state laws are taking effect in the new year. teenaged drivers will be banned from texting while driving even with hands-free devices. students could be suspended or expelled for cyber bullying and the state minimum wage jumps to $9 in july. there is a ban on high capacity conversion kits for ammunition magazines. safe storage requirements for handguns, and new firearms possessions restrictions for people who are mentally ill. >>> a historic change to the boy scouts also goes into effect in the new year. for the first time, openly gay youth will be allowed to join. the new policy was approved in may with support from 60% of the voting members of the scouts national council. a ban on gay adult leaders does remain in effect. >>> a same-sex couple from california will make history of their own this new year's. they will get married on a

the richmond el cerrito fire and police departments have hosted the holiday giveaway for 26 years.evious years, the organization had given away toys to as many as 2000 families. this year, they had to cut the number in half because up until just a few days ago, they had a shortage of donations. >> five daysing a, we put out a request to the public to help us make our goal because we were running short. $7500 was raised by online donations, just people giving $20, $30 here and there. >> reporter: another $10,000 donation came through, with chevron offering to match it. >> people care a lot about what's happening this season and they want to see miracles happen for these everyday families. >> reporter: this bike raffle provided an extra miracle for some families in line. >> we've got a winner! >> reporter: organizers only had about 400 bikes for the 1000 families who came through. kimmie curry drew one of the winning tickets. >> this is wonderful. my daughter, this is -- only thing she wanted is this and i'm so happy. i was able to get it. i appreciate it. >> reporter: curry says it'

you need to crank up the heat in we take you right out to the drive through oakland and toward el cerritoroject eastbound and westbound 80 to powell there is construction with lanes blocked off until action -- 5:00 this morning. eastbound 24 through the caldecott tunnel that is where we have another project. watch out for that. we havewing behind it out of orinda to lafayette and westbound all moving at top speed. this is the san mateo bridge headed across to the peninsula, wide open and it will take only 12 minutes. >> the expected freezing temperatures have people around the bay area preparing a nonprofit group opened three shelters in santa clara county to give homeless a warm place to sleep. the shelters provide 275 beds. santa clara has the 5 the largest number of people in the united states. >> nurseries in the east bay advise petroleum to protect the plants before the subfreezing temperatures hit by wrapping or spraying a protection product on them to insulate them. homeowners are advised to cover exposed water pipes. >> the certain resumes for a silicon valley c.e.o. whose plane i

and sacred heart prep blew out el cerrito last saturday but today they were once again the underdogsey squared off with unbeaten corona del mar in the state title game. the pride of ratherton down in carson. a rough start for the gators, the quarterback randall gets picked off by bar bay doe who returns it for a pick 6 and sacred heart prep down 21-0 after one. late in the second. he squeezes through the line. and check out his moves. gets a little help and he runs it in from 47 yards out for the touchdown. shp trailed by six at the half. the gators had a chance to take the lead in the third. randall rolls out on the scramble but gets stripped from behind. one of three second half fumbles by sacred heart prep. they lose to corona 27-15. >>> bowl season is underway. the head coach steve car seize january watching the men of -- sarkisian watching the men. touch pass to open up the scoring against fresno state. it was all trojans still in the first half, kessler to lee again. this time lee does the heavy lifting. he runs in his second touchdown. lee is eligible for the nfl draft so he's

it is all part of the richmond el cerrito public safety and toy and food program.reporter: there are a lot of smiling faces, lot of enthusiasm. you can hear the volunteers cheering and clapping, as they pull tickets for the bike raffle. families have been picking up bags full of toys at the ymca, a volunteer handing one off to our right. bit time the giveaway is over, more than a thousand families will have presents to bring home to their kids this holiday. this toy and food giveaway is organized by richmond and el cerrito police and firefighters. it all started 26 years ago, when richmond firefighter rod woods began hounding out toys in this neighborhood on christmas. some of the parents we talked to this morning say they are very appreciative of all of this. they say without this help, they wouldn't have much to put under the tree. >> i'm very grateful, because really, my kids really didn't have that much for christmas. my son's birthday is on christmas. >> reporter: this is what the lines outside looked like before doors opened just before 8:00 this morning. som

richmond and el cerrito first responders are trying to make it a happy holidays. but it's looking grim now. >> what you see in here will probably be 1/4 of that. >> reporter: rob woods says crews have been fund raising all years and chevron has pledged to match up to $10,000 for the toy drive. so far though they've only raised about 4,500 and the clock is ticking to the 21st. the day of the give away. >> one week from yesterday. >> reporter: that's six days. >> six days or we're rounding the corner and we need help. >> a consumer psychologist say tonight that during the holiday season donors can get inundated with requests. but woods points to the long lines of people signing up to receive gifts for their children this year as proof of their need for this community. and if they say they can not come up with the funds, there will be kids with nothing under their tree this year. >> a bad christmas. >> as simple as that right? >> it's that simple. and not only that, if we don't get enough, then the finger is pointed at us. you signed me up and you didn't give me noth

an el cerrito high school is showing off it's newest addition. it's a transgender bathroom.red under the new law taking affect january 1st. schools are now reviewing things like locker room layouts, scheduling sensitivity training for staff and reconsidering dress codes for senior portraits. portola middle school will open in december of 2015. it's taking the new law into consideration. there will be 2 bathrooms which will be transgender. what are are the thousands of school districts going to do to make sure they are ready and able to handle this because if they are not i can tell you lawsuit will flow and they will come rapidly. hitthe changes are happening in a school district where a transgender teen was targeted in a fight. there have been no reported cases of hepatitis a -- after a san francisco restaurant cook was diagnosed with the disease. an infected food handler was working at the comstock saloon on december 12th through the 15th -- and again on the 19th. city health workers say they have not received any reports of customers getting sick. symptoms of hepatitis a

. >> reporter: the following monday another try, this time at a facility in el cerrito. where the impostor got into the backdoor, but was confronted by someone and escaped. >> there is obviously a level of comfort to come in and attempt to get inside a post office. >> reporter: it is a former employee? a employee's friend or relative? investigators don't know but she is determined. yesterday morning she slipped into san rafael's main post office, but after being challenged head north to novato, where she finally succeeded. >> she was able to get a number of parcels, the number that were tanner we're still trying to determine what was taken. >> translator: parcels destined for delivery that day, now missing. >> it's a federal offense and standing $00,000 reward. >> reporter: a serious crime carrying up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. the suspect is described as a heavyset african-american woman. there are surveillance images of her, but investigators don't want those out to the public just yet. richmond, employees believe she may be the same person who slippe

police say he stole a woman's purse last friday near el cerrito plaza. >>> a snow boarder with ties to the bay area died in an avalanche. michael cotonski was in a high avalanche risk area. a friend who is a doctor tried to save his life. he split time living in the bay area and jacksonville wyoming. >>> authorities have identified the pilot killed in a plane crash. the plane was flown by timothy farmer. the child with him was his nephew. 9-year-old fin thompson. investigators say farmer came in at a low altitude and made two passes over the runway before the plane clipped a tree and crashed. >>> 30 people infected with noro virus at a nursing home in walnut creek have recovered the contra costa health department says patients and staff at kindred transitional care and rehabilitation center were treated for the virus last week. authorities say they never discovered the source of the outbreak but added that this time of year is the time of year when they expect to see infections of noro virus on the rise. >> people can die from noro virus and it's usually because it aggravates an underl

the check points will take place include morgan hill, san francisco, martinez, santa clara, and el cerrito. and they will touch on how drunk driving changes lives. not only was one person killed but she was a quarter away from finishing college. she had plans to become a police officer. live in san francisco brian flores ktvu channel 2 news. >>> one member of a social website theft received something unexpected from her secret santa. but she was even more surprised when she found out who sent that gift. >>> the family of 13-year-old jahi all they want is that she be kept on life support for one more week. the surprising thing that they say doctors said to them. >>> good morning. at the mccarthur maze traffic is doing pretty well. there is some slow traffic though before you get to this point. we will tell you where that is. >>> its the last full day of autumn. fall. as winter begins tomorrow. i know it has felt like it for two weeks now. cold, cold night will give way to a little bit warmer afternoon temps. we will see if there is any rain on the horizon. i love having a free checked bag w

police say he stole a woman's purse last friday near el cerrito plaza. >>> a snow boarder with ties to the bay area died in an avalanche. michael cotonski was in a high avalanche risk area. a friend who is a doctor tried to save his life. he split time living in the bay area and jacksonville wyoming. >>> authorities have identified the pilot killed in a plane crash. the plane was flown by timothy farmer. the child with him was his nephew. 9-year-old fin thompson. investigators say farmer came in at a low altitude and made two passes over the runway before the plane clipped a tree and crashed. >>> 30 people infected with noro virus at a nursing home in walnut creek have recovered the contra costa health department says patients and staff at kindred transitional care and rehabilitation center were treated for the virus last week. authorities say they never discovered the source of the outbreak but added that this time of year is the time of year when they expect to see infections of noro virus on the rise. >> people can die from noro virus and it's usually because it aggravates an underl

checkpoints will be include morgan hill, san francisco, martinez, santa clara, redwood city and el cerritome, this marks one year since a tragic accident here in the twin peaks area. the d.a.'s office set to announce the sentence at 11:00 this morning on the case of gina eunice. she had three passengers in a car with her at the time a year ago when she struck and killed a 56-year-old. two others were injured. the d.a. said she was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter. later this morning, george gascon will announce her sentence at the hall of justice. the not only was one person killed but eunice was one quarter away from graduating from college. she had plans to become a police officer. brian flores, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> some people who take b.a.r.t. will get a safety escort to the cars. the free service runs between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. the escorts will wear police uniforms or they will have on special safety vests. >>> oakland animal control officers, say they've found what appears to be a major dog fighting operation. ktvu's cameras were given exclusive access to a raid yesterday.

an el cerrito tavern owner was arrested on november 20th during an occupy demonstration.tnesses say he refused riot police orders to move and witnesses say one of the officers beat him with a baton, rupturing his spleen. the $645,000 settlement needs to be ratified by the council one more time before it becomes official. >>> there are reports from texas, the university of texas may want to steal away and hire jim harbaugh. a texas sport site reports that the current coach there, mack brown, will step down. the school has a wish list of possible replacements. they include harbaugh, alabama coach nick saban and stanford head coach david shaw. the current texas school president graduated from cal reportedly he wants the school seen in the same light as cal and stanford. >>> 8:27. a woman found dead in a hospital stairwell more than two months ago in san francisco. mum, the internal prob -- coming up, the internal problems holding up for answers in that still- disturbing case. >> reporter: we're live in burlingame where dozens of people have gathered to watch the ntsb crash h

the traffic is backing up as you drive out of richmond and head out towards el cerrito. this is blocking a lane here as i try to get more information. one of the things you should know is that traffic is going to be slow if you are driving. this is a hit and run crash by the way that has one vehicle outstanding, car parts all over the place. not a good start to the 80 commute. let's move along to some live pictures now. westbound bay bridge, backed up as you drive up to the toll plaza for about 2 or 3 minute delay, nothing major. those metering lights are not on just yet. if you are driving in san jose, northbound 280 is off to a good start. >>> we begin with developing news, firefighters in redwood city putting out hot spots from a smoky fire at a metal recycling plant. it started at about 1:00 this morning and it's at the simms metal management plant near the port of redwood city. investigators say the fire is burning car parts, old appliances and other discarded items which is sending up a huge plume of smoke. there are no reports of injuries but it's not clear how th

tried the same thing in a san rafael post office yesterday morning and may have hit offices in el~cerrito and richmond all since last friday. i actually talked to my postal worker. >> you see san francisco still in the 40s here. 30s around the bay. how dry are we this year? and will it stay dry until the end of the year? i'll let you know had we return. >> also neck, a terrific follow-up to a terrific story. dozens of bay area students get their christmas wishes granted. and the unbelievable gift a young woman gave to her best friend battling brain cancer. how that act >> a mission accomplished in outerspace this morning. these are live pictures there from the international space station. two astronauts, american astronauts, out there. we just got word that they took off four fluid lines to the degraded ammonia pump. that was their mission for today. they accomplished it. they did it so fast now they have extra time to do other item out there as they are continuing their spacewalk this morning. we are trying to, again, if i can the ammonia pump that's given them trouble the past ten days.

the same thing in a san rafael post office yesterday morning and may have hit office necessary el~cerrito and richmond all since last friday. i actually talked to my postal worker who cruises our neighborhood and he said it's been so busy carrying all the packages, but at least the weather has been relatively nice for them a lot of people want to see winter weather. >> i know. we are looking at temperatures each up this morning. they could be a lot cooler with the clear and calm conditions. take a look outside from our sutro camera, it's 47 degrees in san francisco. 50 at the airport. and only a couple of 30s in the north by. we will talk about a warmer afternoon and perhaps the driest year on record had we return. >> also next, a terrific follow-up to a terrific story. dozens of bay area students get their christmas wishes granted. and the unbelievable gift one woman gave to her best friend battling brain cancer. how this act of kindness i want you to be kind.ff i want you to be smart. super smart. i want one thing in a doctor. i want you to be handsome. i want you to be awesome. i don't

the school in el cerrito is already updating its locker rooms and bathrooms. one bay area school board member said that teens need these changes. >> they are going through puberty and through their own adolescent growth, they need to have outlets especially for somebody who is transgender. there's not enough resources that we see being developed. >> the statute could be suspended if a referendum to appeal it qualifies for the november ballot. >>> tomorrow is the fifth day in a row of "spare the air" days as record high temperatures hit the bay area and it's going to be warm for a while. >> did you ever see the movie groundhog day where the same day happens over and over? we are stuck in the pattern new record highs every day "spare the air" days, these are your highs from today. not pictured, oakland 67 degrees the record high and it was one of the cooler spots today t petaluma 69. berkeley 69. one better in santa clara, 70. this is silly. the day after christmas in santa cruz, thanks to down sloping winds off the mountains there, feet in the sand at the beach

. >> well, i'm a volunteer coordinator for the el cerrito neighborhood food bank project. and this is how we roll in the ec. >> love it. it's great. what do you do? let's start with the bag. >> my neighbors and i have made a commitment to donate a bag of food every two months so it's different than a one-time or two-time a year food drive. we have made a commitment to donate a bag of food every two months to the food bank and they email me. i leave the bag on their porch. and pick it up with the wagon. i pick up a full bag with the wagon every two months and i send them phone pictures of all of the carts that we have filled and the facilities and tell them what a great job they are doing. >> excellent. well, thank you for doing that. larry, you're from the food bank contra costa solano counties. tell us how big of a deal this is not only to get money but to get food. >> it's a real big deal. what we do during the holiday season is essential to us. we probably get a million pounds a year from the food drives and this has the potential to grow that dramatically because it is

an el cerrito high school is showing off it's newest addition. >> catherine: it's a transgender bathroom new law taking affect january 1st. schools are now reviewing their locker room layouts, scheduling sensitivity training for staff and reconsidering senior portrait dress codes. >> our district is ready to deal with this issue. most districts are not ready. what are they going to do to make sure that they are able to handle it. if they are not, lawsuit will flow and they will come rapidly. >> catherine: portola middle school will open in december of 2015. it's taking the new law into consideration. there will be 2 bathrooms which will be transgender. these changes come to schools in a district where a trangendered teen was involved in a brawl caught on cell phone video last month. >> catherine: we are going live now outside to oakland children's hospital. the family of jahi mcmath, will speak. i think that they have started patrick last listen and >> >> catherine: this does not look like they have started. it looks like that could be jahi's uncle in the background. >> catherine: severa

. >> el cerrito police say they've arrested a man behind a violent purse snatching. the robbery happened a week ago on kearney street. surveillance cameras took these pictures of a suspect. police say the man grabbed a woman's purse from her shoulder - then tried to run off. but. the woman pulled out a pot from another bag. and started beating him with it.trying to get him to let go of her purse. it didn't work. >> oakland police are searching for two cell phone thieves. they say one of the armed robbers took this photo of himself -- with the stolen phone. the crime happened back in august. a woman was walking down east 28-th street, when two men demanded her phone and necklace. she handed them over - but had her phone set up so that any photos would automatically be uploaded to the internet. a 25-hundred dollar reward is being offered in the case. no line >> this is a busy day for holiday travellers. in fact - it's expected to be the busiest day of the year at sfo. roughly 130-thousand travelers are expected to pass through the airport. as they wind down their holid

with a new law that protect the rights of transgendered students taking effect soon, an el cerrito highchool and showing off its newest addition. it's a transgendered bathroom. required under the new law taking effect january 1, 2003 schools are now reviewing things like a locker room layouts, scheduling sensitivity training for staff and reconsidering dress codes for senior portraits. porto the middle school opened in december of 2015. it's taking an allotted to consideration. there'll be two bathrooms which would be transgendered. the changes are happening in a school district where a transgendered team was targeted in a fight. a proposal for a plus size barbie doll the story of all kind of controversy this morning. what do you think? kind of controversy this morning.good. do you think? good answer. check it out. learning's fun now. yeah, back in our day, we didn't have u-verse high speed internet to play and learn online. all we had was that franklin fuzzypants. ah, the educational toy bear. remember when the battery went out? [ slow, deep voice ] give me your abc's. all i learned wa

new this morning, police in el cerrito say they need help to find a man suspected of snatching a woman's purse. this is the man police are looking for. they say he followed a woman last friday afternoon and grabbed her purse. but the woman fought back. police say the woman pulled out a pot she had just purchased and hit the man with it. but he was still able to run off. >>> there was a mysterious odor coming from behind the oakland coliseum late last night. pg&e received several calls about a strong smell of natural gas. the oakland fire department responded but crews could not locate the source of the smell or gas leaks. it dissipated after a few hours. >>> fremont police are looking for witnesses to a crash involving an alameda county fire suv. the fire department tweeted out this video of the after math of the crash last night. this is on dakota road. the fire vehicle had its emergency lights on when it collided with another car. the battalion chief behind the wheel and the driver of the other car were both taken to the hospital and released. the intersection, though, was blocked for