let's all give a happy birtday for golden gate park! [applause] a brief love note to kick off the festivities. so, in a city like san francisco, parks are really powerful places, and they rep mind us that place is powerful. and golden gate park just might be san francisco's most important place to understand golden gate park is to understand san francisco. from the post gold rush years to the 1906 earthquake and fire, from the panama pacific international expigz and summer of love. aids epidemic and explosion of business and jobs it is a oasis through the joy, misery, growth, invasion. within the parks majestic canopy are stories. stories about class, about race, about nationality and religion. stories about conflict and peace. stories about gentrification and equity. stories about constancy and change. stories about stewardship and stories about destruction. stories about technology and nature, about celebration and suffering, about all arts, music and food. about love gartherings and solitary strolls. stories about communities neighbor

and that reminder came recently with the announcement that golden gate park was named one of the bestks in the nation. it came in at number two, according to a new poll from usa today, and when you visit golden gate park, it's easy to see why. in fact, you might think it should be number one. joining us live now to talk about what makes golden gate park so wonderful is daniel montes, the san francisco rec and park communications manager. hey, daniel. >> hi, kristen. thanks so much for having me. >> absolutely. i mean, it's an exciting occasion, right? congratulations on this nationwide ranking. i'm sure you've had many, but this is another look. what do you suppose are the factors? what makes it so that people are voting for. yep. golden gate park right up there amongst my favorites. >> there's so much to choose from. i mean, japanese tea garden uh- conservatory of flowers, botanical garden, the aids memorial grove, golden tennis facility, there's just so much to do in golden gate park, and, oh, you can't forget the bison. that's pretty unique. >> exactly. we have so many unique, quir

today is the 154th anniversary since the founding of golden gate park. mayor london breed and other city officials kicking off that celebration earlier today at the conservatory of flowers by the way, it was the first building erected in the park back in 1879. the event included entertainment activities and, of course, the cutting of a birthday cake. let's talk more about the sprawling park with phil ginsberg, general manager of the san francisco recreation and park department. phil it's always a pleasure to see you this park. more than 1000 acres. i mean, it is really hard to imagine san francisco without golden gate park. >> it is. thank you. heather. happy birthday, golden gate park. this park is part of the city's soul. it's its lungs. it's in many respects, its heartbeat. it is the keeper of san francisco's story. and it is just a treasure. yeah. >> and this area for people at home, they may not know this was once miles and miles of sand dunes, and there were doubts that a park could actually be built there. >> this park was a horticultural miracle.

let's all give a happy birtday for golden gate park! a brief love note to kick off the festivities. so, in a city like san francisco, parks are really powerful places, and they rep mind us that place is powerful. and golden gate park just might be san francisco's most important place to understand golden gate park is to understand san francisco. from the post gold rush years to the 1906 earthquake and fire, from the panama pacific international expigz and summer of love. aids epidemic and explosion of business and jobs it is a oasis through the joy, misery, growth, invasion. within the parks majestic canopy are stories. stories about class, about race, about nationality and religion. stories about conflict and peace. stories about gentrification and equity. stories about constancy and change. stories about stewardship and stories about destruction. stories about technology and nature, about celebration and suffering, about all arts, music and food. about love gartherings and solitary strolls. stories about communities neighborhoods and

tiffany justice is live for us now at golden gate park to hash out what's planned today. hey, there to funding. >> event may have been canceled but park and rec stepping up. they say that they will be holding volleyball and kickball tournament here right behind us. robin williams meadow. you can see some of the staff already here bright and early this morning, setting up for those fun tournament's this annual for 20 at hippie hill event took place every year on april. 20th in the sharon meadows area of the park. now, this event usually attracts thousands of attendees. however, organizers counseling this year's event citing a number of factors, including citywide budget cuts impacting park and recs ability to cover staffing for the event and economic challenges within the cannabis industry. they say that's making sponsorship hard to secure. now with people expected to still arrive, the church of self-described psychedelic church announced it will people providing support services here on hippie hill, quote, cancellation or not. the church saying that they are partnering up

people heading to golden gate park this weekend will now be able to rent your very own skates. o rec and park says new skate rentals are launching on saturday and will cost about $20 an hour. the rentals will be available from 11 to 6 on both saturdays and sundays at skating place, located on the jfk promenade, right there near sixth avenue. now you have the option to choose between inline skates or roller skates. the launch comes just in time for community members to celebrate walk sf's party on sunday, which will honor the fourth anniversary of the creation of the car free space in golden gate park. so it's going to be a great celebration, and now you can also skate your way through that celebration. that's going to do it for me tonight. thanks so much for watching the news at 730. make sure to download the fox local app right there to your smart tv, and remember that you can stream all of our newscast stories and find exclusive content right on your smart tv. all you have to do is download that fox local app. don't forget about that celebration in golden gate park this weeken

usa today that great national newspaper that it is, has nominated golden gate park, our golden gate park for the readers choice best city park in the united states award. [applause] we are facing off against 19 other parks from major cities all around the country, including new york, chicago, portland, dallas, hawaii. that is not a city though. commissioner louie. honolulu. thank you. and so we-there is a competition. this is the one election where you are actually allowed to vote early and to vote on. you may vote every single day through april 8. please check our enews. we are blasting this thing as far and wide because san francisco needs a win! but this park is recognition and validation for our incredible staff, our incredible volunteers, all of our parks group, civic leaders, including those present from the parks recreation open space advisory committee here today. we all work together to insure that golden gate park is just one of the best in the country, and after april 8 it will be the best in the country! alright. so, you can vote at 10-10 best usa.com. you can vote once a day

we have ucsf parnassus behind us and golden gate park, so people come here, get off our trains and go to golden gate park where the county fairgrounds is in this corner is usually very very busy. there have been hit and runs and all kinds of things that having a camera here would be really really helpful in making supporting safety and supporting the community feeling safe. so, i'm very grateful for the attention. i'm so happy we are moving forward with this kind of technology, and grateful for the partnership of the merchants and folks in the community who support safety in the community. it is my pleasure to introduce somebody who has been a partner and continues to do the work every day. our chair of our merchant association, susanna wise. >> thank you supervisor. as a member of the small business community, i am all too familiar safety and security challenges whether they are retail crimes, smash and grabs or broken windows plague our businesses trying to stay afloat. i want to express gratitute to the sfpd and all city partners represented here today for hard work, collaboration

this is a site outside within golden gate park. we met with the director of the grounds there and they are incredibly excited about the project. also to the right we have a aerial image of golden gate park. >> this is taylor speaking. another individual agency we felt would be a strong lead for the initiative is the san francisco public library. for the first pilot program, we are recommending to start at the main branch of the library as it is a great location that offers wide community outreach, including members of the community experiencing houselessness. it has security measures, they are open 7 days a week during reasonable business hours, there is plenty entertainment for chargers and their company, and there is staff and in-house facility division who can potentially assist with maintenance of the devices. specific potential locations within the main library include the deaf services center, though one draw back to this spot, it is only open 5 days a week. the entrance on larkin street, as well as various other locations on

happy birthday to golden gate park!s right in our own backyard 154 years. >> conservatory of flowers. fantastic >> also, shout out to mayor breed for repping that bay fc jacket supporting our women's soccer team. great. thanks so much for joining us here on the noon. a quick reminder you can stream ktvu news on your smart tv anytime. >> all right. we'll see you again at 4:00 in our next news st. pi ionary s (upbeat music) - [announcer] can you guess what this is? ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ if you guessed xylophone, then you'd be a great contestant on "pictionary"! our first celebrity captain you can see in spy thriller, "the recruit", it's femme fatale, colton dunn!

we have ucsf parnassus behind us and golden gate park, so people come here, get off our trains and go to golden gate park where the county fairgrounds is in this corner is usually very very busy. there have been hit and runs and all kinds of things that having a camera here would be really really helpful in making supporting safety and supporting the community feeling safe. so, i'm very grateful for the attention. i'm so happy we are moving forward with this kind of technology, and grateful for the partnership of the merchants and folks in the community who support safety in the community. it is my pleasure to introduce somebody who has been a partner and continues to do the work every day. our chair of our merchant association, susanna wise. >> thank you supervisor. as a member of the small business community, i am all too familiar safety and security challenges whether they are retail crimes, smash and grabs or broken windows plague our businesses trying to stay afloat. i want to express gratitute to the sfpd and all city partners represented here today for hard work, collaboration

kron. 4 s charles clifford has latest from golden gate park. >> well, officially, this year's for 20 celebration here in golden gate park. not happening, but there are some preparations underway. you can see these barriers that reckon park has put out. and also we now know that 2 nonprofits are stepping up to provide some limited resources for the people who might be here this weekend. >> late last month, the city of san francisco's recreation and parks department announced that they were canceling before 20 celebration in golden gate park. the annual event attracted thousands of people here to the robin williams meadow and nearby hippie hill. >> to elebrate all things marijuana related, but recreation and parks says the department budget cuts and a lack of sponsors for the event made the decision necessary. and even though the 4.20 celebration is canceled, there's still a good chance. a lot of people will show up anyway for that reason. the bay area based church of ambroise along with the haight ashbury merchants association have announced that they plan to provide resources for anyo

still, it's a very enthusiastic crowd out here at golden gate park. this is what the area looked like at around 4:20 today. we saw a sort of countdown people were doing, and then some people lit up. other people whipped out their cell phones. other people were dancing. it was quite a celebration. earlier people gathered on the hill, where there was drumming and dancing, and of course smoking. 4/20 is a celebration of cannabis culture, and today the people came out to their own day after the city official festival was canceled this year. organizers cited a lack of funding, so there were nor no stages or food. the community and parks department held volleyball in honor of earth day, and we spoke with people who got a spot early today on hippie hill, who said they preferred the more relaxed unofficial festivities. >> we come over 800 miles every year to do this festival in the park. and even though we knew beforehand it was canceled, we were like you know what? it's san francisco. we will find a party, or be the party. it's okay. one way or the other [ l

.>> a bay area church of all things says it will step up at golden gate park, for those who want to light up on 420. it's called the church of ambrosia, it's headquartered in oakland, no formal event doesn't mean people will show up. they been working with several groups to make the whole thing possible, raising money to get some of what is needed on. >> if there's not some medical support and some water out there, if somebody doesn't do some efforts to keep crowd control, we could have a problem. >> no word yet from the city as to whether they are supportive of the church's effort. the church has reached out and talked to some symphysis go officials. it says it is just one part of a larger volunteer effort to make sure that those do come here to celebrate 420 are cared for and cleaned up after. we will keep you posted. at golden gate park, scott rudman, nbc bay area news. >>> a milestone moment for new crowdfunding legislation around the homelessness, drug addiction and theft reduction act. the measure focuses on creating more accountability for serial retail thieves and drug traffickers

s charles clifford has latest now from golden gate park has details on this new funding effort. >> well officially, this year's for 20 celebration here in golden gate park, not happening, but there are some preparations underway. you can see these barriers that reckon park has put out. and also we now know that 2 nonprofits are stepping up to provide some limited resources for the people who might be here this weekend. >> late last month, the city of san francisco's recreation and parks department announced that they were canceling before 20 celebration in golden gate park. the annual event attracted thousands of people here to the robin williams meadow and nearby hit the hill to celebrate all things marijuana related, but recreation and parks says the department budget cuts and a lack of sponsors for the event made the decision necessary. and even though the 4.20 celebration is canceled, there's still a good chance. a lot of people will show up anyway for that reason. the bay area based church of ambroise along with the haight ashbury merchants association have announced that they plan

live in golden gate park, nbc bay area news.>>> they are ready to walk off the job, thousands of janitors keep some of california's biggest office buildings clean. the contract is expiring for 25,000 janitors. many joint protests in san jose and across the state, and voted to authorize the strike. the union says that janitors are fighting abusive workloads, and sadie industry is exploiting them because of their status. they cite a recent study by the california department of industrial relations, noting that one third of janitors in california were injured on the job last year.>> these are hard- working families, hard-working individuals that go out every night, most of them don't get seen, because they work at night, but the reality is that they are helping create wealth for these multibillion-dollar business owners.>> they are also fighting for better pay and health care coverage. if a contract deal is not reached, dozens of office buildings and tech campuses could be without janitorial services by may 6. the jury is set for former president donald trump's hush money trial. a 12 person

a very, very cute re on francisco, the official party celebrating pot at hippie hill in golden gate park was canceled, but marijuana revelers are still expected in the park tomorrow. pastor david hodges founded the church of ambrosia and uses cannabis and mushrooms as part of his faith. he says his congregation is stepping up to help tomorrow. >> the concern is because this is not been planned. we're doing everything last minute to provide any resources we can. we just want to make sure that nobody gets hurt and it's the safest possible. >> his group will be out there at the park to offer services including water, medical aid, portable toilets, trash pickup and more. the rec and parks department says it's worked with emergency responders to make sure the city is prepared for any crowd, and we will be streaming the unofficial 420 celebration live from hippie hill. you can watch it on the fox local app from 3:00 to five tomorrow afternoon. the california service corps is looking for some new bay area recruits. state chief service officer josh friday was in san jose today, with mayor matt m

let's all give a happy birtday for golden gate park! [applause] a brief love note to kick off the festivities. so, in a city like san francisco, parks are really powerful places, and they rep mind us that place is powerful. and golden gate park just might be san francisco's most important place to understand golden gate park is to understand san francisco. from the post gold rush years to the 1906 earthquake and fire, from the panama pacific international expigz and summer of love. aids epidemic and

the sanctioned 4/20 celebration at golden gate park called off this year. we are used to seeing stuff like this on the day celebrating cannabis culture. this is video of the massive crowds we had last year. that is massive. stages and performances along with it brought all kinds of reasons to go there. the marijuana meet up to officially light up, and this year, canceled due to lack in funding. but that did not stop many from attending anyway, firing up and enjoying 4/20. here is nbc bay area's christie smith. >> reporter: the official 4/20 didn't happen, the but that didn't stop people from coming out. the crowd still good-sized with a haze of smoke adrift for the celebration of cannabis culture. the vibes at golden gate park were still happening near robin williams meadow. >> there are people that still support the movement and come to the park and claim their spot and hang out and smoke some bud. >> this is the vibe we have always come to enjoy. >> reporter: these two came from utah. >> 800 miles, but you know, it was canceled, and we were like we will f

you can ride through golden gate park on roller skates, even if you don't own your own pair.offering rentals every weekend, sf rec and parks partnered with church of eight wheels to make the rentals available. skate in place is located on the jfk promenade near sixth avenue. the godfather of skate shows off his skills most weekend nights at the skate park. david miles junior says this is the first time rentals have been made available in golden gate park since the early 80s. there are not many places where you can just show up, be a part of something and feel it. you know in your bones and your nerves. and here in golden gate park, when you sit along the hillside and watch the skaters skating, you feel like you're a part of it, and we even bring you into it so that you can dance and that you can feel it. you can. you don't necessarily have to skate, but the energy is so exciting and so unique. the rental rates for kids under $1,212 per hour adults are $20. for the first hour, the project will begin as a six month trial. san francisco officials are teaching children about the

you'll see that haze all over golden gate park on saturday and it's not fog, right, paul? >> some of it will be fog. >> maybe the fog will help blow it away. you know what i mean? >> don't do the thing that you look forward to every year. >> save it for special occasions is. that what you're saying? >> volleyball. >> i'm sure that will work just fine. >>> today was a great day to go to golden gate park. it was so lovely and warm, a rare warm day in the city. >> now the fog will roll back in, first the atmospheric fog and then the other kind as we head into the weekend. let's look at the way the big picture weather pattern is shifting. up and down temperatures the next few days, closer to normal because there's a ripple in the atmosphere moving through reducing the weight of the atmosphere on top of us allowing the marine layer to expand and push touch farther inland the next couple nights, friday and saturday morning a foggy start for most of the bay and changes kicking in the second half of the weekend. sunday and monday there's another ridge, another area of more atmosph

we mentioned union square and golden gate park. where else? absolutely. fulton plaza, the jerry garcia amphitheater in mclaren park, potrero del sol park, crane cove park, it's it over 20 concerts. we're hitting a lot of spaces across the city over the year. not quite outside lands here, but do you have some big names coming, we have a lot of a lot of good names, some big names, some haven't even been announced yet, but. but but getting pen to paper to make that happen, but i think what you're going to see is these experiences are uniquely san francisco, because they're they're being brought to you and curated by venues that are delivering live music around the city seven days a week. so it's going to be a really authentic san francisco experience, and we hope everybody comes and checks it out. we wish you the best of luck. and i think a lot of people, not just in the city but around the bay area, will come into the city for these events, these concerts, ben van houten with the office of economic and workforce development in san francisco. thanks for your

abc seven news reporter suzanne fawn is live for us now in golden gate park, with the celebration. and suzanne, there's actually another effort underway to further improve safety on our streets. >> you're definitely right. and dion, such a beautiful day out here. now jfk drive and keeping it car free is definitely cause for celebration today. but some people say a lot more work needs to be done to make sure that the city streets of san francisco are free from injuries fourth birthday, jfk promenade for many, it's another beautiful day at golden gate park, but on this day with bikers, strollers, runners, even a pedal powered vw bug hundreds of people came out to celebrate another year that jfk drive has been car free. >> we're really excited to have a car free space in san francisco. this was a dangerous street. now all it does is spark joy. >> parents like tammy two are grateful for the safe space. >> it's really awesome because you get a ride, feel safe with your little ones. >> this park, i must say, for those of mayor london breed first made jfk drive car free during the pandemi

today is golden gate park's 150th birthday. the 1000 acre park is san francisco's most visited. it is also one of the most beloved parks in the city. the city celebrated its special day with a lively event near the conservatory of flowers, which is the park's oldest building. also one of the prettiest look at that. >> this spectacular mayor, london breed city officials and community members were there to celebrate about. 25 million people visit the park every year. it is home to some of the city's most popular live events such as upper in the park comedy day outside lands and depending on the year for 20 celebration. yeah, but you know, 154, they couldn't give it its just do during covid what? so i think they're trying to make up for it in years to come up. that's when they brought the big ferris wheel. and there there was so much planned for it. so. >> maybe one. 55, they'll do some real bad. they just redid the golf course there, lawrence. little nine-hole course. noel and i were having a debate of sorts. it's definitely the most visited park in the city. do you think you coul

there's a new option for getting around golden gate park. look at that tale about the new at that tale about the new attraction next. ness. it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. see why comcast business powers more small businesses than anyone else. get started for $49.99 a month plus ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. don't wait- call today. ( ♪♪ ) you made a cow! actually it's a piggy bank. my inspiration to start saving. how about a more solid way to save? i'm listening. well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. both: cash reward? and there's a cash bonus when you open a new checking account to get you started. wow. anything you can't do? ( ♪♪ ) mugs. ♪ bmo ♪ my dry eye's made me a burning, stinging, 5-times-a-day,... ...makeup smearing

educational activities, a special science fair, giveaways and much more. >> new at 11 tonight, golden gate park turns 154 years old. tomorrow and san francisco rec and parks is getting ready to celebrate. a birthday event kicks off tomorrow morning at 1130. it will be held at the conservatory valley between the san francisco conservatory of flowers and the jfk promenade. there will be entertainment, activities and even the cutting of the park's birthday cake. the rec and parks department says the best gift, though, made to the park, is by voting it as the best city park in the u.s. to do that to vote, just head to ktvu.com/web links. >> i heard it's good luck if it rains on your birthday. >> oh well, then it's actually it's good luck. >> yes. happy birthday. all right. >> that's our report. thanks for watching the 11:00 news. your next newscast at 4 a.m. mornings on two. >> and to stream the latest news and weather on your smart tv anytime, just download the fox local app to your tv. thanks for joining us. good night. hey, what's going on? everyone i'm alex savage. welcome to this edition of li

and if you do rent those skates at golden gate park, you can skate right to the end and enjoy the dutch king's day windmill festival tomorrow. so we're starting out at noon. temperatures at about 60 degrees and some lower 60s for the day. and then the wind increases once again. they do encourage you to wear orange if you're going to this, but a lot of free festivities and some activities going on there, there's also the cherry blossom festival in cupertino tomorrow at 10:00. we're starting out at 59 degrees throughout the day. it's headed for the mid 60s, so it's going to be really nice and comfortable and also a nice little breeze there. as well. in sausalito, there's the citywide yard sale that starts at 9:00 in the morning. if you're getting there early, you do need a jacket. it will be in the mid 50s. we will see some peeks of sunshine early, then becoming mostly sunny as the yard sale wraps up. will be in the low 60s, and if your weekend plans take you to the coastline, you're going to maybe santa cruz . it'll be in the low 60s there for today and still very windy, but i don't thin