nbc bay area's ian cole with mr.ristmas. >> reporter: for 36 years christmas lights have brought the concord community together. especially at this home on olive drive. for many families stopping by is an annual tradition. >> we've been coming here since i was probably a teenager, and now we're bringing our kids. >> reporter: the man who lives here behind the lights is bruce murts. but everyone calls him mr. christmas. when his wife passed away in 1985, he devoted himself to putting up more lights. 50,000 in all. more ex-trav grant displays. more smiles from neighbors and their children. >> kept me occupied. and something to do. so i guess i did a pretty good job. >> reporter: but it's a lot of work. mertz just turned 85. he had back surgery in june, a heart attack in august, and decided this will be the last year he'll put the lights out. >> he's one of a kind. >> reporter: so tonight hundreds of neighbors organized and came out to see them once more, to bring their kids even if they won't remember and to mourn in a

i don't know how i would have handled things differently. >> go. >> reporter: ian cole, nbc bay area >> happening right now, thousands of people are spending christmas eve picking up after a deadly storm ripped apart several mississippi towns overnight. four people died, more than 50 others injured. meteorologists say it's possible a tornado touched down in columbia, mississippi but still investigating that. strong wind ripped the roof off of a daycare center, and there were children inside. thankfully, nobody was hurt. other businesses were also damaged, and numerous cars were flipped over. >> scary, no warning sounds like there. luck illinois luckily we're not experiencing that severe weather. anthony slaughter with a look at weather. first a live look outside at san rafael. a touch of fog, right. >> that's where we have the worst fog, visibility down to a tenth of a mile. it's along the 101 corridor that many use to get into san francisco. >> north bay, more so concentrated. yesterday the south bay. like hot hpotato. airport delays, checked in, you can see sfo, airport delays beca

ian cole explains how it will affect workers and the folks who ride caltrain, as well. >> reporter: no matter where you go in downtown palo alto, it seems everyone is looking for a parking spot. since most areas only allow two-hour parking, many people who work downtown or want to stay longer look to neighborhoods for free spots. that's about to change. the city council just passed a residential parking permit program starting in the spring, drivers who want to park for work or extended hours will need a permit. >> we don't really regulate parking anywhere in the neighborhoods, and so this program would begin to regulate parking for people who don't live here. >> reporter: which means you'll need a permit for the areas shaded in green within the blue boundary, residents will receive one free permit. workers will have to pay $100 to $466 per year, depending on their income. >> a lot of the people working here are working on minimum wage or a bit above, and starting to pay permits or paying for parking in garages is going to be kind of a problem. >> reporter: caltrain commuters who grab

nbc bay area's ian cole shows us how it works. >> reporter: if you need help checking your kids ears for infection, there's a tool and app for that, created by san francisco-based self scope to help you get a remote diagnosis from a doctor fast. >> we can provide the magnified image, the illumination the doctor needs to be able to see a quality image of the eardrum. >> reporter: they call it the odo, the tool doctors use to check your ears. to use it, attach to the specialized case, open the app and investigate the ear canal. the device magnifies your smartphone camera and sends a recording to a doctor. >> the doctor responds within two hours, and gives you a diagnosis, treatment plan, call in the prescription if necessary, and saves you that trip. saves you that worry. >> reporter: ear infections account for roughly 30 million trips to the doctor each year in the u.s. it's most common in children and if you want to skip the doctor's office, the odo costs $79. each time you send a recording to a doctor, it costs $49. it's not covered by insurance and parents we spoke with had mixed r

in palo alto, ian cole, nbc bay area news. >>> still to come, the u.s. preparing to end its mission in afghanistan, closing out one of the longest wars in our history. the latest from washington coming up next. of shaving stuff. and thankfully, being able to find backups. lifeand thankfully, of shaving stuff. being able to find backups. >>> president george h.w. bush is spending another day in the hospital. he was admitted to a hospital in houston on tuesday because of shortness of breath. officials expected to release him a few days ago, but then they decided to keep him overnight for more observations. his family visited yesterday and a family spokesperson said he is in great spirits. the president spent nearly two months in the hospital last year for a bronchitis related cough and has recently lost the use of his legs, though he still parachuted on his birthday. >>> america's longest war is now down to its final days, but the fight over how to end the war in afghanistan is still in debate. here's nbc's richard jordan with more. >> hello, everybody, me

. >> in case you missed it, nbc bay area's ian cole spoke exclusively with the father and the 5-year-old boy who was bitten. >> reporter: it was christmas day around 5:30 p.m. he watched his 5-year-old son leave the house to meet friends on the sidewalk, checking on him one last time before closing the door, he saw an animal approaching. >> i thought it might be a dog, but then i got suspicious because there was no owner with that. >> reporter: when he realized it was a coyote, he started down the stairs and that's when the wild animal bit the little boy. >> the coyote come and got me. >> i had to be there to save, to rescue my son. >> reporter: he tried to scare the coyote off. >> i took my son's scooter and just throw it towards him. >> i run and stand behind papa. >> reporter: his mom then grabbed him as he kept himself between his family and the coyote, easing back towards the house. >> he was so aggressive, he was looking into my eyes and i was like completely shaken. >> reporter: after a two-minute stare down with the animal, the family made it safely inside. >> i was scared. >> re

ian cole, nbc bay area news. >> for $3,000, kris and i will come out and do your house with lights. >> and we'll bring cocoa. >> she will do the second story. >> we have much more ahead on nbc bay area at 11:00. including the outrage from police after what the st. louis rams did before sunday's game. >>> and ray rice's wife won't watch the video that got her husband banned from the nfl. but she is speaking about what happened that night and the nfl's actions ever since. >>> plus, prince harry shares one of his secrets, deep dark secrets. and it has to do with world aids day. >>> a silent but very public statement last night made by several nfl players about the missouri grand jury's decision in the michael brown case. >> came a day after ferguson police officer darren wilson resigned from the force. and as president obama prepares to meet with civil rights leaders and other ferguson officials today. as nbc's ron allen reports, darren wilson's resignation was not a surprise. the question is now whether this helps ferguson to move on. >> reporter: while taking the field for their pregam

i don't know how i would have handled things differently. >> go. >> reporter: ian cole, nbc bay areary. that's why you never want to engage with people on the road. you never know who is in the car with you. >> you don't. interesting courtroom reactions as well from the perpetrator. 5:34. this morning a final push to collect christmas toys for less fortunate san francisco kids. >> "today in the bay's" stephanie chuang live at lefty o'doul's in the city. that's where they try to push it to the last minute and get the procrastinators out, right? >> reporter: absolutely. good morning to you. we're in union square, you can come shopping and stop by and drop off amazing toys for kids. joined by nick, owner of lefty o'doul's. talking about 10,000 toys. >> we heard over 10,000 kids without a toy. we're not going to let that happen. every kid will wake up with a toy. please come by, just drop off a toy, join the website, leftiestoydrive.com or something at the fire station. let's help the church. no kid wakes up without a toy. >> it's christmas eve but feels like christmas. everybody's here.

in palo alto, ian cole, nbc bay area news. >> some say mission impossible. don't tell that to eli musk. next month, space x will launch a rock neat space try off to land it on a barge in the middle of the atlantic ocean. typically the lower portion of the rocket detach and crashes into the ocean. musk is trying to salvage the most expensive part and make it reusab reusable. platform for the landing. 300 feet long. 1707 feet wide. that's small. launch schedule ford january 6. musk says his team has a 50% chance of sticking that landing. check in with our meteorologist with the microclimate forecast. we have cold temperatures on the way. north bay. close to napa. 42, san jose. san francisco, nice. 47 degrees. clear skies there. won't be seeing any clouds for a while. san francisco, 42 in san jose. give you a stop into the north bay. napa done to 37 degrees. 24-hour temperature change. all locations around the bay area. surprising. wind backed off. clear skies. temperature change. 5, 10 cooler than this time last night. half moon bay. cooler than 24 hours ago.

in san jose ian cole. >> new york city's times square workers tested the most famous crystal ball in the world. droch on new year's eve. 32,000 lights. 2,700 crystals. it appears ready to go. >> question around here. windy and cold. or windy. or cold. >> jeff what is going on? >> wendy, freezing cold. >> breezy and definitely cold. lose some of the strong wind for today. still hanging around. little into your wednesday forecast. from our emoryville camera. san francisco. still shaking a bit. check out the traffic. new span. lot of folks commuting. 11:16 to or from the city. expect travel any time across the bridges into the morning. tough here. sky camera. a lot of you've saying is your computer working right. temperatures reading in the 40s. we know feeling a lot colder. we had the wind chill. air temperature. south bay. feeling look upper 30s. east bay. 43. 39. when the wind kicks up. feels it at 32 degrees. dipping to 38. more wind chill in the forecast. east bay. 34. north bay. looking at 33. just in case you are missing it. common sense advice. here is the few ways to beat the c

. >> reporter: ian cole, nbc bay area news. >> scary moment. >> that will get your blood pumping in the morning. 4:50 now. how the warriors made one fan's holiday wish come true this holiday season. >> san mateo bridge, what we can see of. anthony talked about yesterday a lot of fog in the south bay. today a different situation but unexpected fog. we'll talk about also a tree down in the east bay coming up. playing hoops, sam is number one. at st. jude i was number two. yeah, but that was a good thing. sam was the second of seven patients to receive a new cancer treatment available only at st. jude children's research hospital, and that discovery will be shared with hospitals all across america. st. jude gives kids like me a shot. a great shot. go to st. jude dot org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo. >>> i'm from san diego, california, director of nursing services, multination medical unit in kandahar, afghanistan. i want to say happy holidays to all of my family and friends, to david in san diego, my son, christopher in san francisco, my sister in new jersey, and my dad and k

. >> in san francisco, ian cole, nbc bay area news. >> well, not nice, but naughty. santa, rob abed a bank in san francisco. surveillance photos, union square bank. last saturday afternoon. the santa-con pub crawl was getting under way. this man warned the teller he had a gun. demanded cash. got away with the cash. if you have information call sfpd. every effort to void the skrooge. christmas as you know is next week. many local charities need help. hundreds of kids may not get a holiday gift this time around. nbc bay area's cheryl hurd joins from san ramon. she caught up with three organizations making a last minute push to help. cheryl? >> reporter: raj, i talked to folks who run charities throughout the bay area tonight. some of them are sur priprised r trucks are not overflowing. now that christmas is a week away. panic is setting in. >> edna campbell the first to admit she has been crying a lot lately. sadness is setting in because she and her daughter alea don't have holiday gifts for the charity for nine years. called christmas in richmond. >> it has been runn

. >> ian cole, nbc bay area news. >>> how about this, caught in a tight situation. a 13-year-old boy got himself stuck in his own chimney. rescue crews said he was trying to get into his locked house. once the boy realized he was trapped he just got out his cell phone and called 911. a lot of people came out. during the rescue, he was handed a mask and glasses so he would not be affected by the smoke as they pulled him out of the chimney. >> may i suggest a hide-a-key? >> all right, meteorologist jeffjeff ranieri has more. >>> you will still find plenty of heavy rainfall, especially in parts of the north bay, marin, napa and sonoma counties have flood advisories in effect until 3:45 a.m. or we could see more streams and creeks and rivers rise, it still remains heavy from petaluma through marin down to san rafael all the way to mill valley. you will see the heavier rainfall is on a slight clip to the north, the east, taking some of it into richmond. we'll take you more off to the south. and it looks like the rainfall is now moving across the bay. and we could see som

in fremont, ian cole, nbc bay area news. >>> if you think it's cold tonight, temperatures will be dipping even lower this week as we track a cold blast heading right for the bay area. live look outside right now showing clearing conditions over san jose, helping to set the stage for a chilly morning. live team coverage for you tonight. let's begin with chief meteorologist jeff ranieri tracking this blustery weather. >> heading all the way up to canada. that's where the source of the cold air is coming from that's going to be hitting california. right now minus 4 in calgary. seattle with 34. portland 34. and boise at 25. we're beginning to feel some of the impasse across the sierra with 25. we get a closer look across the bay area beginning to dip into the 30s across santa rosa petaluma. also back here toward napa with 39 degrees. for the east bay also some slightly colder temperatures at this hour. 36 in walnut creek and 39 in danville. not nearly as cold in the south bay but still chilly for our standards with widespread 40s. our first 30 coming on the board right now in los gatos with 3

in palo alto, ian cole nbc bay area news. >> good for her. >>> much more ahead on "today in the bay." their wish came true for a white christmas. skiers and snowboarders heading to the sierra. one resort where the rush couldn't come soon enough. >> if you're doing any traveling this saturday, there is rain and snow across the nation's heartland. the big story at home, the cold weather. >>> welcome back. it is 7:16 on this saturday morning. we are taking a live look outside in downtown san jose where the sun is coming up and temperatures are climbing ever so slightly from the near-freezing temperatures. a live look at alcatraz where the sun is shining, as well. temperatures were just hovering over 32. it should be a little bit warmer than that today but not by much. >>> some say it might be mission impossible, but don't tell that to spacex ceo elon musk. in two weeks spacex will launch a rocket. musk is trying to salvage that most expensive part of the rocket and make it reusable. the platform for the landing is 300 feet long by 170 feet wide. the launch is scheduled for january 6th. m

in fremont, ian cole, nbc bay area news. >> one of the bay area's most upscale restaurant has had several bottles of pricey wine stolen from his restaurant on christmas day. the bottles range from about $1,500 upwards of $ 8,000 apiece. keller says the bottles are so rare, they will likely raise red flags if seen in public so they must be enjoyed privately. >> i don't think my palate is that refined. and i'll never find out either. >> plus an update to breaking news. dozens of bodies found floating in the java sea. how the families of those on board are coping tonight. >> and that might be the north star -- maybe. we'll check with christina on that coming up in a bit. >>> an update to breaking news. dozens of bodies found floating in the java sea. >> and a brisk wind that will continue into the overnight hours. we'll stay cold but clear into new year's eve. >> and the chp didn't wait for that official wind advisory from the weather service. they said watch it across this shaky span, the bay bridge. also talking about the toll plaza coming up. >> and we'll check out the new york stock exch

. >> reporter: ian cole, nbc bay area news. >> they handled it just right. >>> people living in the hawaiianown of pahoa celebrating a reprieve this morning. a river of red hot lava headed for a shopping complex appears to be losing steam. officials say the lava creeping toward the big island pahoa marketplace has stalled for now. they had worried the flow would hit the center on or around christmas day but it looks like the lava's front has hardened and hasn't moved much in 48 hours. as for now, lava is 700 yards away from the shopping center, which has a supermarket, gas station and several other small stores. however, officials say the lava is still branching out in other directions. >> predicting the lava pathway, not the easiest task, but reading winds and other cliissu accessible. >> just a couple days ago they had blizzard warnings in hawaii. they have lava flows, tropical storms and hurricanes, even blizzards. it's crazy, right? oh, man. let's talk about the weather here at home. you can see, i want to start you off with those airport delays. we are finding san francisco really the o