here is more from heather ishimaru. >> the national academy sciences says other countries are showing us the way to reduce traffic fatalities. from 2005 to 2009, france saw 52% reduction. australia, they dropped 25% and 15 other high income countries 15% as compared to 19% to the u.s. >> it showing it can done. >> dave is director of safe transportation center. he says the academy center means the policies and technology are available. >> the only thing we're missing in this country is the political will and the resources to increase our efforts. >> the academy suggested the department of transportation work with state governments to create better traffic safety programs and it cites two programs. automated speed limit enforcement and frequent sobriety checks. >> a large number of policies could be effective, from vehicle design, highway design, enforcement, improved driver training methods. >> nearly 34,000 people died in traffic accidents in the u.s. last year. in california that number was just more than 3,000. >> it's been going down over the years but we can always do more. we ar

heather ishimaru sat down with the director to talk about pipeline safety. >> the pipeline that killed eight people in san bruno in september was made from pieces of pipe welded together but pg&e's records showed it was seamless. it might have been operated at unsafe pressure level to the n.t.s.b. recommended that they verify all their records and they oversee the process. cpuc says the recommendation has accelerated work begun in september. >> the first thing we had them doing, is looking at all the records, purchase records of pipeline segments, construction records, inspections happened that once the pipelines were installed, make sure all of those jibe. if they do, we have less concern if they don't, big red flags. >> we asked hem how could there be such a gap and what was put under ground in 1956? >> we need to wait for the n.t.s.b. to make conclusions in that area. >> he says the recommendation that pipeline operators nationwide verify their records may mean that pg&e may not be the only one with dangerous discrepancies. >> there was a lot of dangerous pipeline records in the 40s

heather ishimaru, abc 7 news. >>> employees of napa state hospital held a vocal rally. they want the hospital to improve conditions immediately because of the death of one of their colleagues last year. >> we want safety. when do we want it? >> now! >> the group calls itself the safety now coalition. many workers say they have been attacked by patients. >> turned around and grabbed me by the hair and punched me numerous times and bit my arm. >> as soon as i come off the witnesses station 6'2" individual, 240-pounds jumped behind me and strangled me behind the neck. >> the hospital says it is working with the department of mental health and union representatives and employees to develop better safety and security plans. they increased the number of police patrols and restricted patient access to some area of the hospital. >>> we have new information about the pipe bombs found in an east bay self-storage unit. the locker is just off 680 near highway 4. tonight, the woman who rented it is under arrest. investigators say at least one of the pipe bombs was rigged to inflict

the puc response was very quick, very rapid and people are inside talking to heather ishimaru. she will have more on this fireworks coming up tonight at abc 7 news at :00 and 6:00. live in san francisco, terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> terry, thank you so much. oakland police and the alameda county district attorney's office will hold a news conference in a few hours from now to discuss a big break in a crime spree. police say they've made an arrest in the lake merritt area. we'll have details in the suggestion expect and th ecrimes at 5:00 and 6:00. >> a san jose neighborhood woke up to the sounds of a han grenade and s.w.a.t. team bursting into ahome. the officers surrounded the home around 6:30 this morning in hopes of a resting a suspect wanted on drug charges. he found an elderly woman inside who was slightly injured by the flash grenade. paramedics treated her at the scene. >> the bay area could be the first all electronic toll bring. officials want to eliminate cash payments which means dozens of toll collectors could sooning looking for work. amy is live at the golden g

heather ishimaru has more on a man in charge of the project and the challenges he faces. >> reporter: california voters prastd a $10 billion bond for high speed rail, but at a current price tag of $43 billion we'll ne more than that bond. >> today, i am more confident than ever that this project can and will be built. >> the hig speed rail authority ceo told san jose business leaders thatunding is the single biggest obstacle but he expectthe money will come from two main sources, private sector and the federal government. he says there is momentum in washington to provide about $1.5 billion a year over ten years and there is the idea for an infrasucture bank. >> which is another possibility to make a development bank which has not yet taken off, but which would fund the project of this nature. >> and other things to overcome are peninsul cities that are unhappy with the pla >> how do you separate those trains from those cars going at 120 miles an hour? do you raise the train 30 to 40 feet in th air and create a scar down the community? no. >> and they wi use caltrain right of way butt

heather ishimaru, abc 7 news. >> another construction note for highway 101.ainy weather we've been having pushed back plans to fill potholes on southbound highway 101 in sonoma county. the work between santa rosa and roaner park has been rescheduled for next week monday through wednesday during overnight hours. tuesday's work though will require all southbound traffic to exit the freeway at wilfred avenue and then immediately get back on again. of course, this is all weather permitting. don't go away. next find out how your phone can help you keep your new year's resolution, especially if your [ female announcer ] most women in america aren't getting the calcium they need. but yoplait wants to change that. only yoplait original has twice the calcium of the leading yogurt. that's 50% of the daily value ♪ so pass on the news and we can help close this calcium gap together. to get you started, we're giving away a million free cups at yoplait dot com. the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today. >> if you're going to pick up somebody at tirport, call ahea

heather ishimaru with that part of the story. >> the natural gas pipeline that exploded and killed 8 people in san bruno in september was made from pieces of pipe welded together but pg&e's records showed it was seamless and that means it might have been operated at an unsafe pressure level. the ntsb recommended that pg&e verify all its records and that the cpuc oversee all of the process. they accelerated work begun in september. >> the first thick we have pg&e doing is look at all of the records of pipeline segments and construction records and what happened once the pipelines were installed. make sure all of those jive. if they do we have less concern. if they don't red flags. >> we asked how there could be a gap in the records and what was actually put in the ground in 1956. >> we need to wait for the ntsb to make the conclusions in the area. it is a prime focus of the investigation. >> reporter: he says the recommendation that pipeline operateors nationwide verify records as well shows pg&e might not be the only one with dangerous discrepancies. >> there was a lot of building of

heather ishimaru takes a look at how things might be different if a similar quake struck today. >> the earthquake did some of the worst damage to highways and bridges. now, the major structures are m improved. we could lose function but we should not give the work they've done. >> francis is an expert on emergency preparedness. she has co-authored a handbook for state transportation agencies. she took a look at loma prieta and changes skins then. >> i think it's important to realize that the average street in the bay area has not been maintained. >> she says surface streets have been neglected and 1700 road segments will be impassable. in 1989, they could not communicate with bay area fire agencies. >> we now have a requirement in the government code that all fire agencies must use the incident command system when they go on a mutual aid effort. >> the bay bridge is safer but it's still three years from completion. >> tie downs. we added a seismic damper where that damage was done. >> the pales retrofit pales in comparison to the new bridge which is built to not only safe standing but

the puc response was very quick, very rapid and people are inside talking to heather ishimaru.he will have more on this fireworks coming up tonight at abc 7 news at 5:00 and 6:00. live in san francisco, terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> terry, thank you so much. oakland police and the alameda county district attorney's office will hold a news conference in a few hours from now to discuss a big break in a crime spree. police say they've made an arrest in the lake merritt area. we'll have details in the suggestion expect and the crimes at 5:00 and 6:00. >> a san jose neighborhood woke up to the sounds of a hand grenade and a s.w.a.t. team bursting into a home. the officers surrounded the home around 6:30 this morning in hopes of a resting a suspect wanted on drug charges. he found an elderly woman inside who was slightly injured by the flash grenade. paramedics treated her at the scene. >> the bay area could be the first all electronic toll bring. officials want to eliminate cash payments which means dozens of toll collectors could sooning looking for work. amy is live at the golde

heather ishimaru, abc 7 news. >> another construction note for highway 101.er we've been having pushed back plans to fill potholes on southbound highway 101 in sonoma county. the work between santa rosa and roaner park has been rescheduled for next week monday through wednesday during the overnight hours. but tuesday's work will require all south bound traffic to exit the freeway and immediately get back on again. of course, this is all weather-permitting. find out how your phone can help can i eat heart healthy without giving up taste? a man can only try... and try...and try. i heard eating wle grain oats can help lower my cholesterol. it's gonna be tough...so tough. my wife and i want to lowe our cholesterol, but finding healthy food that tastes good is torturous. your father is suffering. [ male announc ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. >> now that it's the end of the year, one university is taking the time to do away with a whole list of overused, misused words. the new words from michigan state univ

more from heather ishimaru. >> reporter: this afternoon, 10-year-old ray wilkie faced his attacker, a 3-year-old pitbull named savage. he had to identify the dog to vallejo animal control can take the next step of transferring him for quarantine. >> seemed like a brave guy. >> yeah, i do. >> reporter: savage was captured this morning. the owner tried to help the officer get control of him. savage disappeared monday afternoon after attacking ray on the street near his home. the 911 operator called animal control needly after the attack. >> description of the dog. >> we don't have that because the 9-year-old child was bitten and they didn't even see which way the dog ran. >> ray lost a chunk of his right arm. had endure 14 rabies shots. he says savage was intentionally released to attack him. >> you think he let the dog attack you on purpose? >> yes. >> the owner says she left the dog with a friend who couldn't hold on to the leash but it was an accident. >> the girl let the dog go because i was talking. so if i would have had ahold of him it wouldn't have happened. >> reporter: the ani

heather ishimaru, abc 7 news. >> it's 5:14 now.pite the budget crisis, one bay area state park is about to expand two non-profit conservation groups plan to add 535 acres of land to big basin state park in the santa cruz mountains. the area will be known as little basin. the parcel will be sold to the state for $6.5 million. the nonprofit will use some of the proceeds to help maintain little basin in the future. >> 5:14. we've got fog again this morning but is it anything like yesterday, mike, where it was like early afternoon before it completely lifted. >> good question, good point. i think it will move a lot faster so warmer weather. colder yesterday, some areas only 50 because of the fog. looking forward to some warmer weather today. you can look from ballmer peak this morning. you can see downtown san francisco. you can see the bay bridge, areas you could not see from the same vantage point yesterday. but there still is a lot of fog out there and very dense when you run into it. just because we're showing you one area that doe