live in monte rio, wayne freedman, abc 7. >> a long way to go. how deep was the water where you were today? >> reporter: i think the places where we were north of main street, well it was high enough that it would cover almost the tops of cars. it was still going down. one resident expected to be walking out of there in two hours. that was at noon. i'm thinking he was optimistic. >> all right. wayne freedman, live in monte rio. >> people in parts of the north bay expected the waters to recede more than they already have. this is how it looked in guerneville a few hours ago. most of the town was still underwater. for the latest now on when the waters could fall below flood stage, let's go to meteorologist sandhya patel. >> yeah, kristen. that flood stage is still well above flood stage. flood stage is 32 feet. major floodwaters 41.47 feet. it crested last night. it's expected to continue to remain in the moderate category. tonight at 6:00 p.m. and at mitt nied, it will be 39.4 feet. 5:00 a.m. tomorrow, near flood stage. by 10:00 a.m., it's looking

. >>> i'm wayne freedman in santa rosa with a few friends at an unusual garden party. story coming up. >>> wrestled to ground by nfl fullback, help bust would-be car burglar. >> first "jimmy kimmel live." >>> this is literally most important thing you will ever see. >> i met mark hamel, l wait, xfinity lets crazy fast internet speeds, and pick the types of channels i want? yep, now you can get a package that's just right for you. this is the best day of my life. oh boy. i mean, this is the fourth best day of my life. get more of what you want and less of what you don't. nailed it. you think so? yep. now that's simple. easy. awesome. get started with xfinity internet and tv for $34.99 a month for 12 months. click, call or visit a store today. >>> this is kristen sze in the newsroom, exclusive story of what you'll see all over tomorrow, all over the internet. nfl player for the panthers became target of car burglary but got live alert. >> still frame of his face looking towards camera, going through car. >> now the glove compartment. >> the middle console and passenger s

. >>> i'm wayne freedman in santa rosa with a few friends at an unusual garden party. story coming up. >>> wrestled to ground by nfl fullback, help bust would-be car burglar. >> first "jimmy kimmel live." >>> this is literally most important thing you will ever see. >> i met mark hamel, a van that changed us and chips forever so thanks, keeper of the keys for a chance to chase sweet honey barrel-aged bourbon and mouth-puckering pepperoncini because of that van and because of everybody who loves to crunch like we do we ramble on. knowing that caring for your tastebuds and the planet they hail from is no small potatoes kettle brand chips. no small flavors. no small potatoes. no small flavors. guys go through a lot to deal with shave irritation. so, we built the new gillette skinguard with a specialized guard designed to reduce it. because we believe all men deserve a razor just for them. the best a man can get. gillette. >>> this is kristen sze in the newsroom, exclusive story of what you'll see all over tomorrow, all over the internet. nfl player for the panthers became

in guerneville, wayne freedman, "abc7 news." >>> take a look at this. a landslide in mendocino county causing problems slide about si. traffic is down to one lane, so if you're traveling up north, you might hit delays. >>> be prepared with the next round of rain with the "abc7 news" app. it gives you constant access to live doppler 7. >>> the search for the woman who was buried in the landslide in san francisco is over now, with no sign of the victim. kyra sunshine scarlet was walking with her dog and a friend last friday when the cliff collapsed. her friend and the dog survived, but crews still have not been able to find scarlet's body, unsure if it's in the sand somewhere or washed out into the bay. >>> a ribbon cutting ceremony was held today for the new pacific medical center. the 274 bed hospital opens for patients tomorrow morning. it will will specialize in emergency and cardiac care. the mayor says it will provide one other critical service. >> we are constantly talking about how we as a city need to be prepared for any natural disaster, includi

. >> wayne freedman has more. >> reporter: good evening. welcome to monte rio. we were here yesterday in front of the theater and where we were standing yesterday, we would have been underwater. this is a street in the area. that's the way to guerneville from here. the water is still at roughly 40 feet. it's still very tough going. in flooded guerneville, there were two ways to get around. one small, the other large. in these circumstances, neither ideal. we're on an army national guard truck seeing firsthand how floods make strange bedfellows. as the russian river began reseegd, so did expectations in the community that has seen floods before. where some residents acted surprised. >> 46 feet. it's crazy. >> you sound like you didn't believe it. >> i didn't. no. >> you believe it now? >> hell yes. >> that's hell as in high water. north of main street. a region where front porches double as docks. wendell juice is glad he raised his house. >> how high was the water last night. >> right about maybe four steps up. >> from where you are? >> yeah. so step i'm steppin

in pacifica, wayne freedman, abc7 news. >>> thank you. california is drought free for the first time in eight years because of this. >> this is cal trans. and currently we have white out conditions over nearly the entire mountain. >> oh, there has been so much snow and rain that you may remember at one point the united methodist church put up a sign who ever keeps paying for rain, please stop. let's bring in meteorologist sandhya patel with more on the drought or the end of the drought. >> it is great to see this big change since 2011. you will notice we are completely out of the drought. it hasn't happened since 2011. the only dry areas are down in southern california in the far northern end of the state. but this is the first time we are drought free since december 20, 2011. no rain on our radar right now. but there is a storm developing out over the pacific and you can see it is tightly wound up. i will let you know if it is going to move in any time soon. if you will have rain in the forecast or be able to enjoy the beautiful weather.

wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >>> here's the latest look at the russian river.urrently at 38.76 feet, so moderate flooding continues. at midnight it will continue to come down. it will recede as we head toward tomorrow morning. near flood stage at 5:00 a.m. no flooding is expected around 10:00 a.m. to noon. so actually heading in the right direction, that river is coming down. flood warning until 4:20 tomorrow afternoon for the russian river at guerneville. we do also have a flood warning for creeks and streams in sonoma county because they continue to actually overflow because of the runoff. so the flood warning was extended until 1:45 a.m. i want to show you a wider perspective. live doppler 7. the next storm that is gearing up is different from the last storm that hit us. i'll let you know how so and who will be impacted coming up. >>> right now four school districts are closed because of the flood conditions. guerneville, monty rio, montgomery, west sonoma county will be closed tomorrow. >>> chp golden gate division air operations got a birdseye view of the

wayne freedman has beeing l moreruty tsu.nd he is going to have more on that story for us right now from the hall of justice to tell us more. >> wayne? >> reporter: this is a very sad case. but it does have a happy ending. it is a four-month-old puppy that has a new home. that's the end of the story. we have a suspect facing charges of animal cruelty and abandonment. ere's photographs from inside the court this morning. the defendant, jones of san francisco entered a plea of not guilty. he's a veteran who appears to be sorry for what he's accused of doing to a 4-month-old chihuahua named rocky. in this video shot after the rescue, rocky has only three legs. she had one amputated after the suspect bolted her down to -- slammed her against the door. a video shows her knocked out cold. the impact broke her leg. after that, the suspect is accused of throwing her into a dumpster where he left her for dead. the little dog lived on garbage for four days. first you'll hear from animal control and the officer who is adopteding her. th

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is in sonoma county. >> that's right. but first we begin with spencer christian. spencer, there's more rain this weekend. >> there is. right now live doppler 7 is picking up moisture content and clouds thickening over the bay area. we don't have any reports at the moment of measurable rain, but it's getting close. it ranges 2 on the storm impact scale. for tonight and tomorrow, we can expect light to moderate rain. it will be breezy at times. notice the more concentrated rainfall will begin to push onshore around 11:00 this evening, and there will be pockets of heavy downpours in the first wave of rain. that will followed by more widespread and concentrated rain. looks like the heaviest will hit the bay around 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 a.m. there's more to follow. i'll give you a closer look at theti meline in just a few minutes. >> spencer, thank you. >>> along the russian river, roads opened and evacuated residents looked to see what the flood washed in and took away. abc 7's wayne freedman is right along the river. wayne. >> re

live outside the future chase center, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> the future is so near.ll right, wayne, thank you. >>> the oakland a's are opening up the baseball season in japan this week, and they're going to see a familiar face. 45-year-old ichiro suzuki will be in the starting lineup on wednesday for the seattle mariners. ichiro of course will become the second oldest player to play on opening day when he takes to the field. he is a legend in his native japan, which is part of the reason why the mariners brought the outfielder back. >> right. >>> listen to this. a group of bay area scientists has made an incredible breakthrough that could one day restore eyesight to the blind. a research team at uc berkeley used gene therapy to help blind mice see again. look at this video. the mouse on the right is blind. it stays in safe areas near the edges of the box. the mouse on the left was blind too, but it can now see. it is exploring the box without fear. scientists allowed the mouse to see again by injecting a gene into its retina to make cells light sensitive. >> we're tr

live in guerneville, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> should be happy in that pond right there. wayne, thank you. >>> a fremont family is speaking out after they say a doctor via a robot video broke the news that their grandfather was going to die. kaiser permanente is disputing their claim, though. abc 7 news reporter luz pennia is live. >> thank you, alma, that's right. the quintana family tell us they were expecting a doctor to come physically inside a classroom. instead, the granddaughter saw a video rolling inside the ropt room so she took out her phone and recorded the whole thing. what she didn't expect was for that doctor to tell her that her grandfather was going to die. >> unfortunately, there is nothing we can treat very effectively. >> in a prognosis that would have been difficult to accept under any circumstance became even more painful for the quintana family of fremont when the doctor used a robot to deliver the bad news. >> the doctor said that there was no lungs left and that he was ready -- he was needing to have comfort care, and that that would entail a morph

in kbas poll, wayne freedman, abc7 news. >>> word definitely got out about this event. linds up earld late. the volunteers making it happen. and the folks forever grateful. >>> caught on a door bell camera. a man tries to set fire to a porch. what happened after this video was taken. >>> and the giants take another step toward their future as one of major league baseball's crown jewels changes things up. >>> the weather is going to be changing up. so soak up the sun while you can. i am abc7 news meteorologist sappedy patel. i will tell but the changes coming. >>> free tickets to one of the season's hottest fashion shows. and a couple of free tickets to get you there. sarah's last tuition payment, sent off. feeling good? oh yeah. now i'm ready to focus on my project. ♪ ♪ this is why we plan. ♪ ♪ you never cease to amaze me, maya. see how investing with a j.p. morgan advisor can help you. visit your local chase branch. >>> a huge crowd linds up early this morning to get access to free dental work at the solana county fair grounds in vallejo. countless volunteers made it h

in windsor, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >>> next, jenny from the block has a new rock.ou (music throughout) >>> here are the winning numbers from las vegas night's $414 million power ball drawing. 5, 6, 45, 55, 59, power ball number 14. nobody picked all six so wednesday night's jackpot is estimated at $448 million. >>> and the winning numbers from last night's $25 million super lotto plus drawing, 6, 14, 19, 22, 39, the mega number 7. nobody picked all six in that drawing either so wednesday's jackpot goes up to $26 million. good luck! >>> new this morning, j-rod are engaged. jennifer lopez and alex rodriguez took to instagram to share that photo of the massive diamond engagement ring. jlo captioned it with eight heart emojis. the couple has been dating since early 2017. this will be jlo's fourth marriage and a-rod's second. each has two children from previous marriages. i wonder how much that rock cost. >> $1 million! i don't know. >> you know what, your forecast is free, and it's going to be one that brings a smile to many people's faces for the upcoming week. >> yes

wayne freedman live. >> reporter: they served as trustees for local schools. begin with todd blake who with his wife diane accused of paying a million dollars to get his daughter into usc. he tweeted congratulations to his daughter. as it turns out while this happened, blake was also a trustee of the ross school district. here is superintendent. >> he was a trustee for us for nine years and performed his duties faithfully and we are surprised to hear this news. >> reporter: they are feeling the same at the marin faked the -- even though marin academy has no football team. today the academy released a statement which reads in part, we were shocked by these charges and are especially concerned about the impact this will have on our children. there is no indication that anyone who works at ma was aware of or participated in the alleged illegal and highly unethical behavior detailed in the charges. today a spokesman for academy. also, worth noting, the kids, the children, the student in the scandal apparently had no idea what their parents were allegedly doing for

p i believe thomas freedman first talked about it. it's been proposed internationally. it's based in the roosevelt new deal idea. we were coming out of the depression and needed economic stimulus. that's what this is about. it's about economic stimulus, building clean energy jobs for the future, jobs that deliver family-sustaining wages, it's about delivering the basic rights for our people, health care, the right to clean air, clean water. so, it's very much in the idea of what sierra club has always been working on for our 125-year history. >> were you consulted at all in this piece of legislation? >> yes, we were consulted. the resolution was written with lots of stakeholders actually including unions, justice groups. and many people were consulted. it really is a vision. it talks about projects. it talks about really some great opportunities with changing the way we make goods in this country by clean initiatives, investments in renewable energy. and it puts us on a path to clean renewable energy by mid century and pushes us in this near term to in the next ten year

. >> and wiayne freedman has the details. >> reporter: mayor breed has reorganized. the mayor promised to do something about mental health issues in san francisco. and now she has done so. she has appointed a director of mental health reform. from what san francisco critics describe as a dead end in dealing with homelessness borne from mental illness to what mayor breed characterized as a new beginning -- >> that system needs greater coordination focus and accountability. >> reporter: and so her announcement of a new hire to serve as director of men tale health reform, chief of psychiatric services at san francisco general hospital. >> we are determined to do more. >> reporter: critics say he has a tall order in rebuilding the system especially if they look just south of market. >> it will just happen. >> reporter: where residents armed with cellphones post pictures of the homeless an mentally ill on twitter and make sure that the mayor sees them. adam who owns a business south of market goes by the name@better soma. >> try to give us some sort of peace as residents,

. >> i'm wayne freedman, coming up next, a book about the north bay fires, and the man who wrote it.outside from our golden gate bridge camera. the roads are slick out there this morning. francis din >>> happening today in san francisco, sunday streets kicks off the new season. between debows and 26th will transfer into a car free space. there will be live music, outdoor lounges, pet adoptions, climbing wall, interactive art projects and much more. this is the first of ten sunday streets this year running from 11:00 until 4:00 this afternoon. will the weather cooperate? >> bring an umbrella or raincoat because we'll see scattered showers. we'll get a break midday but here say live shot with light rain falling over the richmond bridge now near the toll plaza but i have better news and a dry spell is coming up. >> sounds good. thanks. >>> also ahead, instead of trying away talent, the raiders make a deal to pick up one of the most dynamic players in the nfl. >>> in sports, just eight more regular season games left for the warriors. the first 10,000 fans will receive a champion replica

live outside the chase center, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >>> now abc 7 is going to be following everyvent during reveal week this week. you can get each announcement sent to your phone if you download the abc 7 news app, which you can customize for the topics and places you're interested in. the app will also let you know about breaking news around the bay area as it happens. >>> how would you like to have to shut your windows on a day like this or avoid a walk in the park because of the nasty smell? that's the unpleasant reality in milpitas. abc 7 news reporter david louie explains the city hopes to finally figure out where that smell is coming from. >> milpitas is home to 78,000 people and growing, however, there's something you can't see their residents find offensive, an odor in their. very pungen bothsomeandomet it affects my sinuses, i feel that when's it's bad. >> reporter: thousands of public nuisance complaints have been filed, 3,500 complaints in 2015 with the number slowly falling each year since reaching a low of 1,500 last year, but the odor continues. the city of milpita

in ukiah, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >>> a new reason to be concerned about measles in the south bay. a santa clara resident recently returned from international travel and caught measles while overseas. a few days ago we reported on an international tourist who traveled to santa clara county and got the measles. those two cases are not related. health officials are warning people to watch out for symptoms. people may have been exposed to measles at sauced barbecue and spirits on first street in livermore. if you are there and are vulnerable, time to get medication. >>> happening tonight, an event for california senator kamala harris who is running for president. the reception will take place in downtown oakland with representative barbara democratic candidates will have their first face-to-face debate in june. >>> president trump is threatening to close down the southern border with mexico. he says if mexico doesn't stop all illegal immigration, he'll close large sections of the border next week. >> we have right now two big caravans coming up from guatemala, massive caravans, walki

in windsor, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >>> relief is coming to vic to ims of the camp fire thanks tograph from president trump. he signed a football hat and was auctioned off. it will help pay for the school's graduation ceremony this june at its football stadium. the money will pay for tree removal and tree trimming on campus. the congressman got the president to sign the hat following the state of the union address. >>> we want to turn to our weather because more rain is actually already here. >> yeah. we're tracking all of it. >> oh, yes. >> see all of the green showing up on the radar? we have rain falling outside of our building. here's a look at doppler 7. and the rain is becoming more widespread. concentrated in a treatment of treatme stream in the bay area. some of it is moving toward the northeast. as we track that cell, you can see that by about 6:22, it will be pushing through concord. 6:36, into antioch and on to fa fairfield. a live look at the rain along the embarcaderembarcadero. and here's the view at the golden gate where it has been raining. looks like it still is.

. >> abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman live from main street in guerneville. wayne? >> reporter: good evening. main street tonight looks very much as it would have looked before this storm. but that's only main street. there are other parts of the town that look like they need a lot of work because they do. >> 11 letters covered with dried mud. they tell the past, present and immediate future of guerneville whereas floodwaters recede, the piles rise. >> it's what we do. you get used to it. you learn from every flood. >> spoken like had a man who has been through seven floods. that explains how wendell spent part of this day. knocking out and disposing of drywall turned wet. he has four buildings. has flood insurance on one. has not paid a premium since 1995 and feels ahead the game. >> i knew how much it was going to cost and i ee-elected to be self-insured because flood insurance for most people is prohibitively expensive. the front porch of his house looked like a dock. >> the house was about here. >> wendell told us how a federal grant helped him raise the living

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman has the story. >> reporter: in san francisco the sign serves as a the city has historically dealt with homelessness born from a mental illness. >> i think the city is really lacking. i think there needs to be major correction. >> reporter: today an announcement by mayor london breed that she would say characterizes a new beginning. >> i want to reform the system. i want to make it work. i want to make sure that we get those people off the streets and get them the help and the support that they need. and this position is a step in the right direction. >> reporter: all in the form of granton bland, a new hire as director of mental health reform. he's been the chief of psychiatric services at san francisco general hospital. >> i think it's an engagement process and everything begins with relationships. >> reporter: critics say he has a tall order in rebuilding the system, especially when one looks at an arena like south of market. >> it will just happen. >> reporter: last month we profiled residents armed with cellular phones who mounted a video vigila

live in sbas pool, wayne freedman, abc7 news. >> how can the gates have been stuck in storage? >> reporter: well that's the question. and as told to me, they were stuck in storage for the absence of a key. they couldn't get the storage unit open. it was about 100 yards away. so he had to go and use a saw to saw through the wheels to get the unit open. once they got the unit open they said that the gates, the metal pieces were still not organized and they had to figure out how to put them on the doors. >> all right, wayne freedman reporting live. thank you so much. >>> sonoma county is warning victims of february's flooding not to count on fema for help. county leaders say the flood damage may not qualify for a major disaster declaration even though it is the worst flooding in decades. a team from fema will determine if damage warrants a federal disaster declaration. officials say it is not clear if the tal will top the $56 million in uninsured damage to qualify. >> it is it is about to get easier for people in sonoma county to remove flood debris from its property. curbside col

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman visited a town that knows all too well how destructive erosion canrter: asleep on the beach in pacifica. a perfect moment in a less than ocean's history around here. the fronts of homes tell stories. >> the waves went right over the sea wall, crossed the street and slammed into the homes. >> you can see where it literally took the concrete right off. >> reporter: she doesn't know it yet but her damage is already statistical and part of something frightening. a new report from the united states geological survey predicts $150 billion in california flood damage by the end of this century, blaming sea rise made worse by storms. >> sea rise in the bay area, one foot equals 200,000 people exposed to flooding. >> reporter: the danger areas, pretty much anywhere near sea level. san francisco, oakland airports, coastal counties, north, south, and east, even san francisco. in terms of cost, those $150 billion equal 15 times what we paid for the loma prieto earthquake and california wi wildfir wildfires. >> statewide, san francisco accounts for 2/3 of the impa

. >> i'm wayne freedman, coming up next, a book about the north bay fires. the man who wrote it. >>> first, a live look outside from the abc 7 explorery camera showing a break in fact rain. the financial district there. meteorologist remember the way we used to do things? hey man... like connect with friends? dig it! or get in shape? or sell a house and pay a real estate agent a big commission. [crash] at redfin, we charge you a 1% listing fee. and because redfin.com is america's #1 brokerage site our agents get more eyes on your home so you sell for thousands more than the one next door. don't get stuck in the past. sell with a redfin agent. than the one next door. reliable wifi with coverage what'sthroughout your home?ast, how about having internet that can help you save on wireless phone service? xfinity gives you the fastest speeds for all your devices. plus, now that xfinity mobile is included, you can switch your wireless carrier and save hundreds of dollars a year. talk and text as much as much as you want and only pay for data. now that's simple, eas

wayne freedman is live with a look at the clean-up. wayne? >> reporter: and there is a lot of cleanup to be done. this is main street in downtown guerneville. hard to believe last week it was under water. you would hardly know by looking at it. all you have to do is walk this way or that way or that way or this way and you'll see quite a mess remaining. the mud on the sign outside of guerneville said much more than letters ever can. the residue of last week's flood lines the streets and highways as waters recede and piles rise >> that is what we do. you get used to it and learn every flood. >> reporter: this man spent the day knocking out drywall turned wet and he has four buildings in town and he doesn't have flood insurance and hasn't paid a premium since 1995 and feel as head of the game. >> i knew how much it was going to cost and i elected to be self insurance because flood insurance for most people is prohibitively expensive. >> reporter: he is one of the lucky people here. at emergency management office we found jennifer harwood who mo

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman went to ukiah in mendocino county for the story. >> reporter: for anybody who treasures living close to nature, terrace drive in ukiah might be one version of heaven, unless a person knows better. >> i was terrified to sleep there last summer, couldn't sleep at all. it's terribly overgrown. >> reporter: just like much of california, which is one reason why 1.9 million acres burned last year, a golden state turned orange and black and costly much too often, which led to last week's proclamation of a >> we've got to step up our it, together. >> reporter: the governor promised immediate action in 35 areas, west ukiah one of them. houses below, woodlands above, this is a classic case of what firefighters call a wildland urban interface. these woods have not burned since 1959. >> look at the places that have burned recently. it's going through towns. >> reporter: cal fire battalion chief michael mainerd does not want to see that happen here. directing a crew of prison firefighters cutting eight miles of clearance through wooded terrain. >> we have lots o

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman went to ukiah in mendocino county for the story. >> reporter: for anybody who treasures living close to nature, terrace drive in ukiah might be one version of heaven, unless a person knows better. >> i was terrified to sleep there last summer, couldn't sleep at all. it's terribly overgrown. >> reporter: just like much of california, which is one reason why 1.9 million acres burned last year, a golden state turned orange and black and costly much too often, which led to last week's proclamation of a fire emergency in advance by governor newsom. >> we've got to step up our game. dare i say it, get our act together. >> reporter: the governor and cal fire promised immediate action in 35 critical areas, west ukiah one of them. houses below, woodlands above, this is a classic case of what firefighters call a wildland these woods have not burned since 1959. >> look at the places that have burned recently. it's going through towns. >> reporter: cal fire chief michael mainard does not want to see that happen here, where he grew up and still lives. directing

abc7 news reporter wayne freedman visited a town who knows too well how destructive erosion can be. >leep on the beach in pacifica, a perfect moment in a less-than-perfect place based on the ocean's history around here. the fronts of homes tell stories. >> yeah, the waves break right over the sea wall and cross the street and slam into the homes. >> look at it. you can see how it literally took the concrete right off. >> reporter: gia konda eagan doesn't know it yet but her damage is already statistical and part of something frightening, a new report from the united states geological survey that predicts $150 billion in california flood damage by the end of this century blamed sea rise made worse by storms. >> sea level rise in the bay area equals about $20 billion in damages and about 200,000 people exposed to flooding. >> the danger area's pretty much anywhere near sea level. san francisco and oakland airports, coastal counties north, south and east, even san francisco. in terms of cost, those $150 billion equal 15 times what we paid for the loma prieta earthquake and california wil

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman will have more on the cleanup at abc 7 news at 5:00.sident trump has released his 2020 budget plan. it includes $8.6 billion for additional barriers along the u.s. southern border. about a reporter serena marshall is live in washington. >> the president's budget proposal includes an overall increase to military spending, in part to help fund that new space force. nondefense programs seen around a 5% decrease, but the president making clear what his priority is. a new budget, but for the president, the same priority. >> we need to continue to secure the country. well need to continue to secure the border. we're not going to be bashful about that. >> in hased 20 budget, the white hous nearly $9 billion f border barrier, six times more than what he got following the longest government shutdown in u.s. history. and while it also includes a bump to military spending, the $4.75 trillion budget, the largest in federal history, has sharp cuts to domestic programs, slashing almost a third of the epa budget, the education department by more than

and abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman went to the house featured in the film and knocked on the door reporter: there's a famous bedtime story about an old wonderful house and how it stays pretty much the same as the city changes around it. that is not this house or this story. >> when i bought it, my father said, you're nuts. >> reporter: jim purchased the home in 1971. >> i paid $18,750 for it. >> reporter: and it's about to become a fictional symbol of this city's gentrification. >> i always come back to the old house. >> reporter: you're looking at the movie trailer that resonated almost as soon as it was released, a film called "the last black man in san francisco," but a native son trying to reclaim the victorian home his grandfather built but in a different economic climate. >> it's not your old house and it's not your neighborhood. >> you got any thoughts on that? >> actually no. i haven't seen it happening here. i don't consider myself a part of it. >> reporter: instead this house that jim leased to the filmmakers remains like an unbroken bubble compared with the rest of san

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman joins us live. and wayne, what can make this road safer? >> reporter: well, they're trying to do a lot of things to make it safer. for one, pedestrians need to stay out of the road. that's what santa rosa police say. but this accident was particularly gruesome. above stony point road in santa rosa this afternoon police had a drone in the air surveying the scene of yet another unnerving accident. this would be the starting point. a mailbox where 53-year-old richard anthony burns came to rest after a car hit him at 40 miles an hour this morning in the rain and predawn light. he had been jaywalking. >> he had almost made it all the way across the street going from the west side to the east side of the road when the vehicle hit him. >> the vehicle never saw him? >> never saw him. >> reporter: the 18-year-old driver had just dropped his mother off at work. santa rosa police say the accident was not his fault. still, regular pedestrians here like frank maddox say beware. >> watch the traffic. watch the traffic. >> reporter: this is the fourth tim

abc 7's wayne freedman has more. wayne? >> reporter: this is what they pulled out of a restaurant after a flood. i've seen beer on ice. uen krills. th have used.ou hau-haul they w as the sign reads welcome to guerneville, today it should add where the russian river has turned paradise into a junk pile. >> i was amazed at what i saw floating by. >> people's fences with their address still on it, a couple of refrigerators? a suitcase full of clothes and you could see a vase of flowers. >> reporter: guerneville still fresh from the flood of '19 they'll call it. >> is there anything reflects a level of disaster that touches everyone around here. >> how much was the insurance? >> $8,000. >> a year? >> yes. >> would you have bought it now? >> yes, in hindsight. >> reporter: though this became more a day of looking forward assuming they could get the mud out of the way. >> it was definitely shocking, more than what i was expecting? here's what greeted lisa and jason when they returned to their farmland deli. they expected a foot a

wayne freedman, abc 7. >> and we're hearing from a bay area coach who says the daughter of a hills borrow couple charged in that college admissions scandal never played on his team even though that is what her application said. melanie woodrow is live with the story. >> here is the real burn on this one. not only did lauren isaacson never play, the coaching director there says that there wasn't even a team for her age group during the years she supposedly would have played. the key athletics club lauren as the captain of her soccer team. a mid feerld majoring in psychology and includes a similar description. team captain from to 12 to 2016 and selected team mvp in 2015. >> i would say team captain and mvp would be hard to be that of a team that doesn't exist. >> reporter: zach says during the years isaacson claims she was on a team, a team for her age group didn't even exist. >> and we have been unable to substantiate any clams. >> reporter: and according to the complaint, her first choice was a us xrchlt as c as a socce krut. and former head coach foshded the soccer profile to the head c

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman went to ukiah in mendocino county for the story. >> reporter: fordy who treasures living close to nature, terrace drive in ukiah might be one version of heaven, unless a person knows better. >> i was terrified to sleep there last summer, couldn't sleep at all. it's terribly overgrown. >> reporter: just like much of california, which is one reason why 1.9 million acres burned last year, a golden state turned orange and black and costly much too often, which led to last week's proclamation of a fire emergency in advance by governor newsom. i i g actno to step u cal fire promised immediate action in 3 areas, west ukiah one of them. houses below, woodlands above, this is a classic case of what firefighters call a wildland urban interface. these woods have not burned since 1959. >> look at the places that have burned recently. it's going through towns. >> reporter: cal fire battalion chief michael mainard does not want to see that happen here, where he grew up and still lives. directing a crew of prison firefighters cutting eight miles of clearance throu

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman was there. >> reporter: as the sign reads, "welcome to guerneville" and should add where the russian river has turned paradise into a junk pile. >> i'm amazed what washed in and what i saw floating by. >> people's fences with their address still on it, couple of refrigerators. >> a suitcase full of clothes. you could see a vase of flowers. >> reporter: guerneville, still fresh and drying out from the flood of '19, as they'll some day call it. >> is there anything salvageable here? >> not really. >> reporter: guerneville, a place where water brought and now reflects a measure of disaster that has touched everyone around here. >> how much was the insurance? >> $8,000. >> a year? >> yes. >> would you have bought it now? >> yes, in hindsight. >> reporter: though this became more a day for looking forward, assuming they could get the mud out of their way. >> it was definitely shocking. it was more than i was expecting. >> reporter: here is what greeted lisa flint ander husband, jason, when they returned to their farmhand deli. they expected a foot of wate

monte rio, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >>> meanwhile, four districts are closed today to due to flooding concerns. guerneville, monte rio, west sonoma county union high school districts have canceled class. >>> be prepared for the next round of rain with the abc 7 news app. you can customize the app and it gives you constant access to live doppler 7. >> it's 4:32. if you're just joining us, time for an update on that forecast. here's mike nicco. >> we'll start with the flood warning. technically up until 4:20 today. it's mainly for guerneville and jenner. as it's working towards the ocean. here's good news. we continue to drop. down to 36 feet now. we'll be at moderate flooding at 4:00, which is right now. at 5:00, we'll be minor. by 6:00, barely flooding and then 10:00 this morning. we should be below flood stage. the mark west creek is moderate. we've got laguna de santa rosa. all of these should be below flood stage at some point this afternoon. >> how about that for good news on a friday. here's a look at the planner. a lot of cloud cover and sunshine. cooler this morning. low to mid

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman was there. >> reporter: as the sign reads, "welcome to guerneville" and should add where the russian river has turned paradise into a junk pile. >> i'm amazed what washed in and what i saw floating by. >> people's fences with their address still on it, couple of refrigerators. >> a suitcase full of clothes. you could see a vase of flowers. >> reporter: guerneville, still fresh and drying out from the flood of '19, as they'll some day call it. >> is there anything salvageable here? >> not really. >> reporter: guerneville, a place where water brought and now reflects a measure of disaster that has touched everyone around here. >> how much was the insurance? >> $8,000. >> a year? >> yes. >> would you have bought it now? >> yes, in hindsight. >> reporter: though this became more a day for looking forward, assuming they could get the mud out of their way. >> it was definitely shocking. it was more than i was expecting. >> reporter: here is what greeted lisa flint and her husband, jason, when they returned to their farmhand deli. they expected a foot of wa

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman was there. >> reporter: as the sign reads, "welcome to guerneville" and should add where the russian river has turned paradise into a junk pile. >> i'm amazed what washed in and what i saw floating by. >> people's fences with their address still on it, couple of refrigerators. >> a suitcase full of clothes. you could see a vase of flowers. >> reporter: guerneville, still fresh and drying out from the flood of '19, as they'll some day call it. >> is there anything salvageable here? >> not really. >> reporter: guerneville, a place where water brought and now reflects a measure of disaster that has touched everyone around here. >> how much was the insurance? >> $8,000. >> a year? >> yes. >> would you have bought it now? >> yes, in hindsight. >> reporter: though this became more a day for looking forward, assuming they could get the mud out of their way. >> it was definitely shocking. it was more than i was expecting. >> reporter: here is what greeted lisa flint and her husband, jason, when they returned to their farmhand deli. they expected a foot of wa

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman has the story. >> we've got to step up our game. dare i say it, get our act together. >> reporter: that was california governor gavin newsom after touring middletown in lake county where people can turn anywhere and find remnants of the valley fire. 60% of the land of this county has burned since 2015. supervisor mike simon. >> we asked that he come back and pay attention to what we're going through in lake county and today he proved he's a man of his word and followed through on that. >> reporter: when the governor did return he brought a proclamation of emergency. he has ordered fire prevention measures statewide. they bypass bureaucracy and waive environmental rules that would slow down the process. >> some of these projects quite literally not figuratively could take two years to get done, or we could get them done in the next two months. >> reporter: the executive order will speed tree clearing and forest management in 35 areas in and around some 2.2 million homes in communities bordering wildlands. the bay area will have four

abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman has the story. >> we've got to step up our game.e i say it, get our act together. >> reporter: that was california governor gavin newsom after touring middletown in lake county where people can turn anywhere and find remnants of the valley fire. 60% of the land of this county has burned since 2015. supervisor mike simon. >> we asked that he come back and pay attention to what we're going through in lake county and today he proved he's a man of his word and followed through on that. >> reporter: when the governor did return he brought a prauk lags of emergency. he has ordered fire prevention measures statewide. they bypass bureaucracy and wave environmental rules that would slow down the process. >> some of these projects quite literally not figuratively could take two years to get done, or we could get them done in the next two months. >> reporter: the executive order will speed tree clearing and management around 2.2 million homes and communities bordering wildlands. the bay area will have four of the projects totaling about 3,000

here's abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman with a story most popular on our website, abc7news.com. >> reporter: it is a garden party where the guests are not smiling. but the host is. >> i couldn't bring myself to throw them away. therapy pretty call. i was going to use it for target price. >> instead. they're mannequins. they serve as a higher calling, as his neighitn parts covered. >> thiione to keep dsyand t of violation. >> the issue, a corner fence which used to be this high all the way around. a neighbor complained about visibility issues. >> it's insane. >> it's very serious. made me freak out. they were going to fine me every day it wasn't taken down. something like $500 a day. so jason called a friend with a big saw and made the fence code at 36 inches high. >> this is america. we're supposed to be able to add fences in our yard and have privacy. >> jason was not finished. the average person would have resentment and get all angry. i threw a naked party in my yard. what appears to be a perfectly legal compliance. >> they wanted to tear my fence down so they could see inside m

abc 7's wayne freedman spent time with the author. >> beginning a journey back. >> my my will always be divided into before the fire and after the fire. 17 months and we all know the big story, but that's different from living it. a distinction brian fees knows all too well and couldn't let go untold. that would be impossible for the graphic novelist. the morning after his home burned, brian began his process. >> when you do a book like this, you really have to wallow in it, have to stay in the space, think about it. think fire, fire, fire for the better part of the year. >> the book is called "a fire story," 150 pages, 150 drawing and universal experience. >> a story about our fire, in a larger sense, how people react and respond to any sort of disaster. >> that first day brian took still pictures for reference. some went into a book. on a good day, he might finish one or two drawings. >> telling the story gives me ge sense of control over it. in the world of the comic strip, i control that. i control the universe on that side of the page. >>> this week "a fire story" reached booksh

reporter wayne freedman spoke with people who live along the russian river as they begin to assess thereporter: in flooded guerneville, there were two ways of getting around. one small and the other large and in these circumstances, neither ideal. an army national guard truck showed firsthand how floodwaters made strange bedfellows. this community has seen floods before but where some residents still acted surprised. >> 46 feet, it's crazy. >> you sound like you didn't believe it. >> no, i didn't. no. >> you believe it now? >> hell yes. >> that's hell as in high water, block after block. porches double as docks. wendell is glad he raised his house after the flood of '97. >> how high was the water? >> right about maybe four steps up. >> from where you are? >> yeah. so the step i'm stepping on it would have been underwater. >> reporter: here's how the flood looked and sounded. matt leonardo shot this. >> how much more room did you have? >> until it got in our house? >> yeah. >> maybe four feet. but we're a three on story house. >> guerneville still exists on paper at least, wet

. >> abc7 news reporter wayne freedman has more on the efforts to get back in business. >> reporter:owed this place another vichlt this is the bar low. we will give you a look at where some of the work is going on now. it was under water last week. some of the tenants say they are considering a lawsuit against their landlord. they still have many questions. >> please, please get off the property. thank you. >> reporter: it hasn't been a easy to get inside the bar low market district since last week's flood. today tenants invited us in. they showed us walls, bear electrical crisis. it ise thatlost tir. reporte at the village bakery, 70 more at the community market. >> my thing is workers working paycheck to paycheck. how are they going to pay their rent next month or this month, eat. >> reporter: and at this restaurant. >> it was definitely not executed well. >> reporter: the bar low was built on low ground. everyone knows during heavy rains this area tends to flood. the developer put in a series of flood gates right here. but on the night of the big storm something went wrong. >> i d

in sonoma county, wayne freedman. >>> pg&e is trying to give employees $235 million worth of bonuses. they asked the judge to approve the bonuses for thousands of workers. the money is intendedive worker. atorneys for victims objected to the company's bonuses last year and the utility did not give them out. >>> a traveling piano man accidentally destroyed his instrument? san francisco. coming up, the surprise show of support he got today. >>> two of the largest data breaches in history testify today. what they are doing to protect customers. >>> another check on live ♪ [baby crib musical mobile] millions are still exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke. and some of them can't do anything about it. but you can. protect your family. visit tobaccofreeca.com. oh! oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven? and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults l

. >> wayne freedman joins us live from mill street in guerneville. wayne? >> good afternoon.bly going to take a couple of weeks to get all this garbage out of here. despite what you're looking at over my shoulder, this pile of stuff taken out of a hotel, it's actually going pretty well. but picking up garbage is not going to solve all of the larger issues.in gue, tooesany s head f theussianer flood, sonoma county sent in more trucks and containers today. >> it is unbelievable how much stuff ther is in the streets right now. we do believe this will be a record breaker in terms of the amount of debris removed. >> supervisor linda hopkins purchased the county to invest $2.5 million to clean up after the flood. but even after the garbage disappears the cleanup will continue for months. >> you're dealing with toxic waste, dealing with emotional issues, shock. >> jeff ridges owns the hotel. before getting his flood garbage in the bins, he still needs to remove it from 19 of the 23 rooms ruined by high water. >> one of the probls dumpster people are going to have is finding a clean

. >>> wayne freedman continues our coverage. >> reporter: they call this operation varsity blues. two of the people named in this indictment worked as trustees for local schools. first todd blake indicted with his wife diane. they stand accused of paying bribery money. in fact when that university accepted her, blake tweeted congratulations on twitter writing quote, very excited my daughter will be attending usc next year. fight on. more alarming, todd blake just recently retired as a trustee from the ross school strict. >> todd blake was a trustee for us for nine years and we are surprised to hear this news. >> reporter: according to the indictment, this was not the only case of false ethnic profiling. quotes of the indictment show parents knew anything. he is accused of formulating an athletic profile for his son. trying get him in as a kicker and punter. he stands accused of paying to have an entrance exam faked plus playing $50,000 in bribe money to guarantee his son's acceptance. marin academy issued a statement saying in part we were shocked by the charges and are especially