francis. -- on top of the state francis. the equipment you see painted green, that is all the original equipment from 1972. we are just now in the middle of modernizing this equipment. >> why modernize? doesn't the equipment works fine? >> it does, it is of analog and intensive, and there are some additional controls. let me introduce the foreman to you. this is vince. he can do a better job explaining the project details. >> what is happening here, what are you doing? >> we are doing a major modernization. we are tearing out the old system, logic controls, and generator controls, and we will be going over to solid state. this is not your standard selector. it does not have a tape that runs it. because these are outside elevators -- these are unique to the city. >> and this is going away with the upgrade. >> that is right. none of these will be here. we have retrofitted three elevators so far and now we're doing the outside cars. >> so this is what will be replacing -- >> this will be replacing the generator controller and c

francis hotel built the little st. francis. a prefabricated hotel big enough for 100 or so guests.it would operate until 1907 when the original st. francis would reopen. stately, grand as ever. now a mecca to hollywood. the st. francis was evolving as a true historic partner with union square even when shrouded in that most uncommon occurrence, san francisco snow. >> the mid-1800s were also a time when river boats worked their way up and down california's water ways. now they are just romantic relics of our past. in 2001, george watson brought us this look at how our need for river boats slowly sank over time. >>> old fashioned and almost quaint in appearance, seemingly more at home in the civil war era, the river boat showed remarkable staying power. >> there is a consensus that following the boom times of the gold rush, the old river boats sailed off into the sunset. but that wasn't the case. they at adapted and in fact, they stalled in. >> stern wheelers were the first and only way to move huge loads of cargo up and down the state. the vast newly settled farm lands north of the

john francis, welcome to our program. >> thank you, maria. >> hinojosa: good to have you here. so you are the author of the book planetwalker: 17 years of silence, 22 years of walking. >> yes, i am. >> hinojosa: and so it really was. people, i'm sure they're like, "really? he stopped talking for 17 years?" >> right, i did, actually. >> hinojosa: and you walked for 22. >> for 22 years, without motorized vehicles, yeah. >> hinojosa: and throughout all of that, an essential part is your friend here, the banjo. >> my friend the banjo. >> hinojosa: does banjo have a name? >> well, it's american princess. american princess. it's an old banjo. it's over 100 years old, and was built in philadelphia. >> hinojosa: so the banjo became a central part of you as a persona in these years where you were walking and you were not talking. >> yeah, it did. >> hinojosa: but let's go back for... and you play it normally. >> i do, all the time. so you might hear it as we're talking. >> hinojosa: it's an extension of... >> yeah, it is. >> hinojosa: but let's talk about how it all started. it started

and music from francis and the lights. jimmy kimmel live ♪ and now, heading this way here's jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: hi everyone, i'm jimmy, i'm the host of the show. thank you for watching. thank you for being here. you know staples i forgot to tell you how much i love you but i want you to know i do okay? the tax deadline is usually april 15th but the government extended it to the 18th this year because i couldn't get my stuff together. they're actually -- they're pretty reasonable if you just talk to them about it. so now you get to spend the whole weekend convincing the waitress at denny's to give you a reset for a $10,000 meal. i wonder what the most anyone's ever spent at denny's is? i'm going to guess $83. you know who must have the greatest tax deductions of anyone in the country? carrot top. who else can write off a mr. potato head and a bicycle? no one. thank you, thank you very much. you know if you're confused or maybe even procrastinating as far as getting your taxes done go, we have som

francis. i'm drawing on your relatively current report, not that it's pretty recent, improvements needed in management of contractors supporting contract and grant administration in iraq and afghanistan. and if i understood where the punctuation marks would go in there, we would have a problem that was similarly mentioned in previous questions about contractors managing contractors. or contractors closely maki mang the contracts. you found contracts worth $900 million. is that right for the performance of administrative functions for other contracts in iraq and afghanistan? >> yes. it's -- or maybe it was 990, yes. >> okay. and you think that amount has stayed up at a pretty high level. these contractors are not out digging ditches or riding shotgun. they are just helping manage other contractors? >> that's correct. >> wow. and i see that you looked at what is a favorite example for this commission, the aegis company was manning the acod, the armed contractor oversight division, which supervis

monte francis is live at the state building this morning. one calls it commission one of the worst run organizations she's ever seen. >> reporter: well, marla, that's right. this agency is called the teacher credentially. that audit found a backlog of 12,000 cases. among the cases, a teacher exposed middle school students to pornography in 2008. they didn't request police reports for more than a year. another was a teacher charged with prostitution. they were allowed to renew teaching credentials the following year. in the case of a substitute teacher charged with urinating in the classroom while students were present, not until six months after the court case ended. daryl is blasting the commission for failing to act on allegations in a timely way saying the well being of students is at stake. he's called a meeting for may 10 to look at what can be done for improvements. they are calling it one of the state's worst run organizations. now in response, the commission's director said there's a serious backlog of cases. no student has been harm

francis, west and third street. and they told me about their story. picking up people from the fisherman's whf all the way to st. francis, and we charge them $25, and i told them that they should have taken a cab, and it would have cost them just $6 or $8. there are other people who have said the same thing to me. the bread and butter of our tourism industry. not in california. i have en in t industry for 34 years. this is my 34th year. it seems that northern economy. our bre and butter economy is destyed or damaged, i think this will be lost in our trade, and number two of my issues is the status of my two sons on the medallion li. i do not know the word, lackadaisical or lazy. one of my sons looked in october for the battalion. for a medallion. i had the money. chairman nolan: anyone else? i see that ms. hayashi is here. director: the special residential parking districts, i certainly recall when we voted on that to institute permitting, and one of the main reasons we did so is that mr. yee told us that most of the residents were in favor, and i am

nbc bay area's monty francis joins us from at&t park with the very latest. >> reporter: good evening. we're told there will be a strong police presence at tomorrow's game and fans will be able to send text messages directly to ballpark security in case they see situations that might become violent. this text message service is nothing new but it's part of a plan to employ what's called world series level security at the ballpark tomorrow with a security force 30 to 40% larger than usual. this follows the beating of 42-year-old brian stow at the team's season openner los angeles. police say he was targeted apparently because he was wearing giants gear. investigators are still looking for two dodgers fans who attacked stow, punching him in the head and leaving him brain damaged ed and in a coma. we found a few messages calling for pay back against dodgers fans, but many are calling for a toning down to the rivalry and the rhetoric. >> i hope we don't react the same way the dodgers fans did. i hope we show a little more decorpord decorum in terms of our emotions. i think it was fueled by

commissioner hammer: i'm a native san francis can. my parents are here, my grandfather was from here. among the many great things about you, chief, you have an incredible love and commitment to this city, you didn't take this job just for a little while. you have a commitment to san francis cans in every walk of life. the broad array of people who spoke highly to you are the entire, every corner of san francisco. that's what i think is so telling about you. so i salute your integrity and your commitment and i think the hard work begins now. you have a lot to do and the city demands a lot of you. what you do in the next weeks will say a lot about what's to come in the next couple of years. i'm proud san francisco has you and i thank you for your service. >> commissioner kingsley. commissioner kingsley: chief suhr, i haven't had the opportunity to get to owe now as much as some of the other commissioners have, but i can say that i'm very impressed with your professionalism and your station when you i won't repeat the accolades that have

francis. >> i think clearly it is the management, the oversight, the decision making, the budgeting, the contracting. >> have you seen examples of that being performed by contractors? >> no, i can show you examples of contractors in support of that function. that is a big difference. the analysis to support the decision could be better done by a contractor with experience in that field. but the decision making should be and to my knowledge usually is -- i do not have the specific cases. there'll are going to be illegal actions, no question about that. if everyone behaved, we would not need jails. but we will have some abuses. >> contractors essentially carrying out management functions. i think we would all agree with that. in the other functions that should only be carried out by government personnel? >> contrasting -- contracting, war fighting. >> what about supplemental? >> there are various forms of security. there are functions that and five in terms of economics and also functions, but t

francis high school. and usf. any questions so far? that is just a regular cop. it is a little early for drunk driving. we also want to thank the great management teams. the department of emergency management that handles the dispatch services are charged with disaster planning and response, a personal emergency preparedness,, and oversight of the ems in the county. as a reminder, there is no better time to do what you can do to be better prepared for the next earthquake disaster. nert -- [applause] the neighborhood emergency response team provides retraining for individuals, neighborhood groups, and community organizations. individuals learn the basics of personal preparedness and prevention. they celebrated 20 years of community trading. congratulations. [siren] this is looking familiar. year we go. let's have a nice hand for the motorcade showing up. -- here we go. yes. [sirens] [applause] wow. perfect [sirens] there we go. that is a great looking fire engine. that is the rescue company. is our a survivor here? should i bring the microphone out to talk to them

monty francis is in vallejo with the latest on that for us. >> there are about 30 protesters here at the site, they've been camped out since thursday. they say they won't leave until this situation is resolved. several tribes, including the aloni tribe are represented here, they're against plans by the greater vallejo recreation district to develop the waterfront park. the $1.5 million project includes trail improvements, a small parking lot and the planned construction of bathrooms atop what is believed to be an american indian burial ground. native americans have filed a civil rights complaints with the state attorney general and they're asking her to block the construction. >> we're going to be out here until the situation is resolved, no matter what. we have been actively fighting the gbrd to prevent this from happening for 12 years now, this is just the last stand that we're taking, because construction was supposed to start yesterday. >> reporter: the plan was to start construction yesterday, as he said, that did not happen, and now the recreation district says it plans to begi

francis yacht club, the america's cup event authority, and the marina merchants association. looking forward to bringing affordable, high- quality food to the people. >> is there any public comment? seeing none, public comment is close. >> move to approve. >> second. >> all those in favor? >> aye. >> oppose? hearing none, is unanimous. >> item 13, operations of car share programs, a city car share, and zipcar. >> as was brought before the operations committee on april 7. discussion for possible action for city car share programs in recreation and park department facilities. we operate a number of facilities, as you know. over the last decade, the popularity of car sharing programs has increased dramatically through the city. programs like this allow people to utilize public transit as the primary mode of transportation to access a shared car for a small fee when necessary. a partnership to promote car sharing and as importantly, the transit first policy of the city. we are looking to better integrate park space and generate revenue for the department. a little background on t

francis coe, nbc news. >>> saturday night u.s. air strikes over libya were supposed to end, but american planes pounded target in the country sunday and will continue to do so through tonight. thanks to poor weather over the weekend, nato asked for a 48-hour extension to help roll back progress for forces loyal to qadhafi. during the weekend rebels were pushed further east out of key oil complexes of ros lanuf and bregga. an envoy of muammar qadhafi that met with greece's prime minister yesterday said the libyan leader wants to end the fighting in his country and is looking for a political or diplomatic way out of the crisis. according to the "new york times", at least two of qadhafi's sons are pushing a solution that involves pushing their father aside to make way for a transition to democracy under their direction. however, it's thought qadhafi himself, nor the rebels seeking his ouster, would likely sign up for such a proposal. >>> well, now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. basketball fans

nbc bay area's monte francis is live with the story. >> reporter: the stadium is full for this sold-out game. all the attention is on those rings. the chronicle had a special edition today with the headline "diamond certified." now thousands of fans lined up here several hours in advance of the ceremony. that's because many of them wanted to be among the first 20,000 fans to enter the ballpark and to receive a commemorative world series ring keychain. they also say they are here to be a part of history to mark the team's first world series win last season, since 1958. some fans started lining up here as early as 9:30 this morning. we even ran into a celebrity, dot marie jones. she brought her nephew to the game. >> it's amazing. you know, to be honest, i haven't been in the new stadium. so i'm really excited because i haven't been to the game in years. >> we're tired. we want to get in there and see the game. but it's good. everyone is excited. black and orange. it's awesome. >> and again, the ring ceremony is scheduled to get under way here in just a few minutes and then first pitch ag

nbc's francis quo has the latest on what ntsb investigators learned today. >> reporter: a preliminary federal investigation reveals what may have caused the southwest jet to make an emergency landing on friday. a five-feet-long hole ripped in the aircraft's roof in midair. >> we did find evidence of widespread cracking across this entire fracture surface. >> reporter: the ntsb's guidelines are raising questions about requirements for maintenance. they had its maintenance check in march of 2010. that. >> most likely would have been the last time that anybody would have looked up under here and seen this, because it is a concealed part of the aircraft. >> reporter: investigators do say in this case southwest had followed all maintenance recommendations. >> this aircraft had undergone all required inspections. this airplane was in compliance. >> reporter: the plane's voice and flight data recorders are also giving new insight into the emergency in midair. flight 812 was 18 1/2 minutes into its flight from phoenix to sacramento when the hole ripped open. >> there were no overt, abnormal i

let's bring in monte francis who joins us from san francisco. how serious is the situation there? >> reporter: raj, here at northeast medical services they receive a majority of their funding from the federal government. they operate five clinics here in the bay area, and there were plans to add a sixth clinic in daily city, but now those plans are on hold. 15-year-old malena is one of the 50,000 patients who receives affordable health care at northeast medical services. without the clinic, health care is something her mother says the family might not be able to pay for. >> i receive all the care here and the doctors are great. they really take care of my daughter. >> reporter: community clinics are exspengted to serve 40 million americans by 2015 as part of the federal health care reform act. but the current budget agreement takes away $600 million from a $1 billion fund to pay for clinic expansion. >> from the federal, state, local level, you know, it's a crisis. you know, i think difficult decision has to be made. >> dr. kenneth ty says he's not looking to lay off employees, bu

live in walnut creek tonight, monty francis. nbc bay area news. >> thank you. >>> contra costa times is reporting that joseph, the man accused of killing four northern california women, kept boxes of notebooks detailing how he wanted to torture other women. one of the names found in the notebooks was that of margaret prisco. police say he wrote about how he wanted to torture her in 1981. when she was a 23-year-old living in r in the same apartment building. she now lives with her husband in upstate new york. when reached by the newspaper, the couple said they knew him back then and referred to him as crazy joe. she said she moved out of building in 1982 and now realizes that that might have saved her life. he by the way is in marin county jail charged with the killing of four women in the 1970s and 1990s. >>> dozens of people are camping out for a second night at a mark the vallejo that they consider a sacred burial site. several tribes are represented and they're against plans by vallejo to develop the glenco waterfront park. i

nbc bay area's monte francis is in san francisco with that story for us. monte? >> reporter: well, diane, good evening. many americans canceled their plans for spring break. and now they're rethinking their summer vacations. here is part of the reason why. the soaring price of gas you can see here. it is $4.49 a gallon. for those who identify themselves as middle class, this is just part of a new reality. nancy and her husband are among the estimated 45% of americans who identify themselves as middle class. nancy makes good money as a nurse, but with organic milk at $7 a gallon, tomatoes $5 a pound and spaghetti sauce at $8.49, she has been forced to make changes to her family's budget. >> before i used to spend $100. it would be easy to get what i need. now it's leaving the door pay $250 or more. >> reporter: the salvation army in san francisco says it's seen a growing number of people, part of what it calls the former middle class, struggling to put food on the table. >> since the major economic downturn, we have really seen a change in the people that we're se

monty francis is live where fans have been gathering all day and monty, they're ready for more torture, huh? >> right now those fans are heading into the park for the ring ceremony which is scheduled to take place at 6:15. there's excitement here in the air and the chronicle even as a special edition today and the headline here, it's windy and it says diamond certified and as these fans got here several hours in advance of today's ring ceremony. many told us they wanted to be among the first 20,000 fans and they will receive a commemorative world series key thain. they also say they're here to mark the team's first series win since 1968. one of the first in line was a fan from stockton who told us they got here at 9:30 this morning. >> my dad raised me right. i've been a giants fan my whole life. >> we've been waiting for this for a long time. since 2002 any they lost it that time and we've been waiting eight years to even get back and let alone win it any now that they did i don't want to miss anything. >> any the ring ceremony was scheduled for 6:15 any first pitch against the st. lo

live in san francisco, monte francis, nbc bay area news. >> monte, thanks. brian stowe's coworkers are holding a fundraiser this thursday. it starts at noon at the american medical response building at 1679 las plumas in east san jose. they hope to raise money to help support stowe's family and to help pay for his medical expenses. >>> outsourcing safety. tonight a bay area city faces a future without its own police department. in an effort to save money. city leaders voted this weekend to eliminate the force. the council is now negotiating with the san mateo county sheriff's office. we're told the deal would ensure that no half moon bay officers would lose their jobs. the plan is expected to save the city more than half million a year. but residents say it will only cost them by causing property values to drop and by sending a message to criminals that they can get away with more. >> i don't think it's good for anybody. i think the crime rate is going to go up. we already have methamphetamine lab problems up and down the coast. >> half moon bay has been in

monty francis is in san jose where he just finished talking with one of the victim's co-workers.stowe works here at medical response as a paramedic. what has happened to him comes as a real shock to his co-workers, many of whom are also his friend. stowe was leaving dodgers stadium after the game with some friends. police say two men began taunting stowe and his friends and one of the men punched stowe in the back of the head and he hit his head on the pavement. the father of two was rushed to the hospital with critical head injuries and was later placed in a medically induced coma because of swelling of the brain. his co-workers here at amr have set up a fund to help pay for his medical care. >> i hope for a full recovery for brian. i want him to come home so that we can, you know, give him trouble about it. the trouble he's put us through just so he can get himself a signed jersey. we like to tease him about that. we want to see him up on his feet, back in the field. we want to see him being a paramedic again. because he loves it. >> reporter: now, police have released sketches

nbc bay area's monte francis is in san francisco with a look for us. monte?> reporter: well, diane, the salvation army tells us that the shift happened some time in 2008 when the recession began. and people who identify themselves as middle class, they continue to come to the salvation army for help. in fact, the trend appears to be growing, made more apparent by the recent spike in food prices. the salvation army here in san francisco tells us it delivered more than 33,000 meals last year. that's more than double the previous year. it also reports a 20% increase in the number of food boxes it handed out last year compared to the previous year. >> since the major economic downturn, we've really seen a change in the people that we're serving. not only those that are low income or underprivileged, but those folks that maybe those middle class people that were laid off. >> reporter: the rising cost of gasoline, foreclosures and the unemployment situation, they all remain factors in the equation. some economists argue the middle class is shrinking. they point to

monte francis is live. one calls it commission one of the worst run organizations she's ever seen. >> reporter: well, scott, that's right. the commission or the agency is called the commission on teacher credentialing. it's responsible for investigating charges of misconduct by teachers in the classroom and the audit found backlogged more than 12,000 cases. among the cases is allegations of a middle schoolteacher exposed middle school students to pornography in the classroom in 2008. they didn't request police reports in the case for more than a year. another case was a teacher arrested on charges of prostitution and petty theft in 2007. that teacher was allowed to renew his teaching credential and didn't have it revoked until 2010. in the case of a substitute teacher urinating in a classroom with kids present. daryl is among those blasting the commission for failing to act on allegations in a timely way saying the well being of students is at stake here. he's called a legislative meeting for may 10 to look

nbc bay area's monte francis is at at&t park with a look at the increased security plan for the series with the dodgers. hello, monte. >> reporter: good evening. we're told there will be a strong police presence at tomorrow's game, and fans will also be able to send text messages directly to ballpark security if they see situations that could become violent. there are reports the giants plan to have world series level security at the ballpark for these next three home games against the dodgers, with a security force 30 to 40% larger than usual. but a giants spokesperson disputes those reports, refusing to cite numbers, but say it will be equivalent to a high profile postseason game. anyway, it's something most giants fans support. >> you should be able to come to a game and not feel endangered. >> reporter: the move follows the beating of a paramedic from santa cruz, 42-year-old bryan stow at the team opener march 31st. police say he was targeted, apparently because he was wearing giants gear. >> i don't think that san francisco giants fans are going to really retaliate because really,

monte francis is live with the details. >> reporter: people who identify themselves as middle class are seeking help from the salvation army as never before. the organization says it's a growing trend, thanks to a recent spike in food prices. now, the salvation army tells uus the initial shift began back in 2008 when the recession began. the salvation army here in san francisco tells us it delivered more than 33,000 meals last year. that's more than double the previous year. it also reports a 20% increase in the number of food boxes it handed out last year. a spokeswoman for the charity tells us it's not just the poor and underprivileged asking for help. >> just now starting to see some job prospects and may not have a new job just yet, so until they're able to secure a new source of income, they're still struggling to make ends meet. >> reporter: now, the rising cost of gasoline, foreclosures and the unemployment situation all remain factors in the equation. some economists argue the middle class is shrinking. they point to figures that show the gap between the rich and the poor is wid

live in san carl lows, monte francis, nbc bay area news. >>> in st. louis, crews are trying to clean up the damage from the most powerful tornado to strike that area in 40 years. security video captured the tornado as it struck the city's main airport last night. lambert international airport is closed right now as crews repair blown-out windows and a large section of the roof that was ripped off by the storm. the tornado also damaged at least 500 homes and knocked out power to the area. >> and just the terrible noise. and, you know, thinking to myself, boy, will this ever end. seemed to me, two or three or five minutes of pure hell. >> despite the devastation, only five injuries were reported and no deaths. >>> in san francisco today, a family, friends and classmates gathered for the funeral of 16-year-old andy zhang. police found zhang's body inside a home in san francisco's silver terrace neighborhood on april 10th. he was found shot doused with gasoline with a bag over his head. a 15-year-old boy has been charges as a juvenile with murder and atte

francis. >> my name is kevin collins. i am representing students from sensible drug policy, san jose. i started raving in october 2007 with a rave down in l.a. i am here because as many people said we find ourselves in these events. i worry, being part of the harm reduction idea of students for a sensible drug policy, that by pushing these underground what we are really going to do is fostered a -- foster an unsafe environment. there will not be emts. parents will have difficulty finding their children because we will not know where they are. we will not know how to make sure there is proper security and proper ways to keep children safe there. that is my first point. the second point is that i think we have not considered the fact that the promoters also hold a responsibility in this situation. we can go back to the promoters and say, "you are selling too many tickets. you have oversold the event. it is too hot. water is not easily accessible, even though it may be free." other things like that. we have to remember that

monte francis, nbc, bay area news. >>> and we'll have the highlights from tonight's game coming up in sports. >>> a portion of the oakland coliseum has been transformed into a clinic offering thousands of people an assortment of health services all free of charge. the clinic will be open until tuesday and the demand is high. nbc bay area's kimberly tere is live in oakland with the details. >> marla, the lines started forming hours ago with people who couldn't get into the clinic today wanting to secure a spot for tomorrow's clinic. they just started letting people in. it's actually an hour before they were expecting to, but security made an exception because it's simply too cold out here. >> the process to see a doctor or dentist today took at least several hours. but everyone we talked to say the care was well worth the wait. >> i thought it was superb. i mean, everybody that worked here that volunteered was very nice and comfortable to talk to. and very helpful. >> this four-day clinic is put on by the remote area medical clinic or r.a.m. which gets local doctors to volunteer their

nbc bay area's monty francis spoke to the boyfriend of the most recent victim. he joins us with more. >> reporter: police tell us they arrested a suspect at about 3:20 this afternoon. investigators are confident he's connected to yesterday's attack and now they're looking into the possibility that he targeted other women walking alone near lake merritt. a woman in her 20s came home to her apartment building yesterday afternoon on 3rd avenue, climbed the stairs and unlocked the gate. she said suddenly a man tacked her from behind and pushed her into the classroom. this is the woman's boyfriend. >> he turned her around, and, like, she took her pen out, he asked her again, to take her underwear. she was like, no, she didn't want to take her underwear. >> reporter: he says the attacker started touching her, so she threw her purse on the ground to distract him. when he went for the purse, she ran into her apartment and escaped. the attacker took off with the woman's cell phone and her keys. >> never happened to her before. so she was really, really scared. really bad