the peninsula congresswoman jackie spear joined forced today with the cdc. they offered free product testing at the recreation center. they tested items in particular toys for toxic metals including lead and cadmium. >> we are forced to read this cane of -- create this kind of opportunity for the people this our community because in fact there are toxic toys in our stores. >> spear introduced the toxic metals protection act last summer, which would have banned certain heavy metals from products. the bill failed. >>> the u.s. marines and the santa clara vta teamed up today to sell a bus with toys -- fill a bus with toys. the drive got a slow start this morning in downtown san jose, but by 1:30, it was filled with toys and the second filled up too. the node is greater -- need is greater than ever. >> we are in need right now of more toys. this is a harder year financially for the economy. so if anybody can come out and give toys, it would be much appreciated. >> the marines hope to deliver toys to 90,000 children in santa clara county this year. they will be a

. >> reporter: jackie spear is meeting with federal regulators next week to discuss the recommendations as well as the need to do thorough pipeline inspections. reggie kumar, kron 4 news. >>> music, reading and a lot of good will. a bay area teacher is putting his talents to use to help get books for students in his district. just ahead, how the online superstore amazon is >>> tonight's headlines, wikileaks founder george anderson is free on -- george george -- officials will decide if he will be extradited. he is undercrouteny for releasing cables online. the bush era tax cuts passed the house. the $858 billion tax compromise was negotiateiated by president obama and the republicans. it cuts social scute taxes and means income taxes will not go up on january 1. >>> after 25 years, larry king is hanging up his red suspenders. he was once the dominant voice. he interviewed 50,000 people. governor schwarzenegger was on the last show and declared today larry king day in california. >> get out the rain gear, you will need it for quite some time. heavy rain on the way. we will look at future

. >> reporter: jackie spear is meeting with federal regulators next week to discuss the recommendations as well as the need to do thorough pipeline inspections. reggie kumar, kron 4 news. >>> music, reading and a lot of good will. a bay area teacher is putting his talents to use to help get books for students in his district. just ahead, how the online superstore amazon is helping make it all happen, just ahead on kron 4 news. @( charlie, zach and jb have a reputation at st. jude children's research hospital. we're 'the three musketeers'! three friends... each with a brain tumor. they came from across america to st. jude where we've helped raise their survival rates to as high as 85%. do you wanna be the fourth musketeer? oh, do i! one for all and all for fun! give thanks for the healthy kids in your life. and give to those who are not. go to stjude.org or shop wherever you see our magnifying glass. >>> tonight's headlines, wikileaks founder george anderson is free on -- george george -- officials will decide if he will be extradited. he is undercrouteny for releasing cables online. the

. >> at a news conference with san bruno mayor, congress woman jackie spear told reporters the law requires pipes inspected more aggressively. it's up to the california public utilities commission to make sure inspections are performed. >> i want owe-to-make sure that the law is being followed by cpuc and pg&e relate together inspections process. to date i don't believe it has. >> in a conference call with reporters pg&e admitted records weren't accurate. >> we're reviewing ought records and turning that over to the ntsb as part of the review. >> the head of the company's gas engineering department went on to dispute the claim that the pipes were not properly inspected. >> there no difference in regulations between seamless pipe and those that have seams. >> there was no evidence of corrosion no, evidence of damage from someone digging into the pipe no. evidence of a preexplosion gas leak. and in spite of reports some residents smelled gas days before the eruption. >> and what would cause people california public utilities commission has not returned our repeated requests for information on

. >> reporter: jackie spears says this update from the ntsb does raise serious concerns about pg & e's records. >> we know that they didn't know what they had under the ground at this location. >> reporter: the pipeline examined by the ntsb had many welded seams, but pg & e had reported to investigators that this was a seamless section of pipe. >> we know there's a discrepancy there, and we're working to look at all of the records for that pipeline. >> reporter: pg & e offered no reason why they had differing reporting. a final report is due late next year. in the meantime rebuilding a neighborhood where eight lives were lost continues. and some lawmakers say until we have answers,pg & e should restrict use of neighboring pipelines. >> one of those pipelines is 10 years older than the one that ruptured. i think we should have evidence before we start raising that pressure again. >> reporter: while this report did not provide a cost. by ruling out certain causes it is useful information and their effort to inspect the pipeline system around california. in san bruno, ken pritchett. >> an

the community meeting was hosted by congressman jacky spear. residents said they wanted more information from public agencies and some complained that pg and e was not being responsive. >> guys say last month they said we could talk any time. be honest with us. don't tell me one thing and say another thing. >> we would like some more answers from the ntsb as to, of course, what happened on the pipelines. >> the san francisco chronicle reports that an audit performed four months before suggests utility took short cuts during its inspections of the high pressure natural gas line. >>> so far there is no sign of retaliation from north korea today as south korea conducts drills. the north warned of consequences if the south went ahead with the exercises. that prompted an order for people to take shelter on those islands including one the north attacked last month after a similar warning. new mexico governor is wrapping up a five day mission to north korea. >>> it is another busy day and another key issue ahead for the us senate. it is set to vote to

jackie spear helped organize the event. >> most of you know that the salmon has not been the economicngine for the coastal community for the last three years. it used to be. >> reporter: experts say the numbers have fallen with the most dramatic losses in the sacramento river basin. >> we are -- dozens of fish it should be thousands. >> reporter: 2002 they counted almost 770,000, last year there were less than 40,000. he said restoring the population is key to getting people back to work. >> salmon means jobs. thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue for california. >> reporter: the value of full recovery of the salmon runs could be 94,000 new jobs and $5.7 billion in yearly revenue for the state. mike thompson said whatever the solution it needs to take into account the environment. >> the answer isn't off shore hatcheries to log down to the water's edge. we need to make sure that we keep our water sheds healthy so we cannot only have a healthy salmon stock but also have everything else that comes with living in the healthy environment. >> it's thought the decline over th

thank you, mayor knew some, -- may newsom, mayor brown, jackie speare, the former president of the health commission when prop. 8 past, the health commission, turner construction, derek miller, the arts commission, the staff of laguna honda, our labor partners, and the entire san francisco community for your support in ensuring laguna honda has a bright future. [applause] i will end with a "from a resident of laguna honda. thank you to the citizens of san francisco for backing this wonderful dream you had, and thank you to the many residents who actively supported the dream. thank you. [applause] >> appropriately, the person who will have the final word on today's ceremony is our president of our resident counsel, elizabeth cutler. we are so proud you are here and we are looking forward to your comments. >> i have to unfold my papers. please be patient with me. all of the patients know what i mean. thank you. i want to say is an honor to share this platform with so many accomplished people. i feel thrilled to be among you and to speak to this assembly today. more than that, it is a joy to

and there is a closed door meeting and jackie spear expressed her frustration kt decision. >> i'm getting ready to get real serious with the tax commissioner which probably means i'm going to be audited every year for my lichl i nind so objectionable. >> spear is encouraging residents who received money from pg&e to avoid filing 2010 taxes until this matter is resolved. pg&e gave $15,000 to residents whose homes were damaged and $50,000 for homes destroyed or uninhabitable. >> san francisco mayor is taking action to make this streets safer for pedestrians. today he signed an executive directive aiming to reduce serious accidents by 25% over the next five years. there are about 800 ped debts streens injuries in this city every year. and 22 fatalities. seniors and children are most at risk. there westbound a task force working on the safety action plans. >> the white house announced today president obama will sign the repeel of the military's ban on openly gay service members on wednesday. this is after they voted to end the 17 year don't ask, don't tell policy allowing gays and lesbians to

congresswoman jackie spear and members of the city council hosted this meeting. representatives of pg&e and ntsb were there to answer questions. before the meeting some neighbors said they had plenty of questions and that pg&e was avoiding answering them. >> pg&e guys say last month we can talk to them and now they say it is two weeks. don't tell me one thing and say another thing. this is over and over again. >> we would have like more answers from the ntsb as to of course what happened on the pipeline. >> the san francisco chronicle reported today that an audit of pg&e pipelines was performed four months before the september explosion saying they took shortcuts on the high pressure natural gas pipeline. >>> a storm is brewing in the california school system. just as the population is growing a wave of teacher is leaving and fewer people are seeking credentials to fill those vacancies. lots of current teachers are retiring and it will mean a shortage of students that can teach science and math in elementary school. >>> this morning a magnitude 3.1 in the area in

. >>> congress woman jackie spears says it would increase the deficit too much but she is in favor of extending unemployment benefits. >> if we don't renew unemployment benefits that's $1200 a month. a month. that many of these people are not going to see. so we have got to weigh what's critical. and then move forward that way. >> spears says if the senate does not reach a compromised agreement the tax cuts would then expire without any group getting an extension of tax cuts. >>> bikers, balloons and bands spreading holiday cheer in the east bay today. >>> the oakland holiday parade this afternoon traveled from 199 and broadway to harrison street near lake merit. thousands of parade growers gathered to watch the annual christmas celebration. this is the 11th year of the oakland holiday parade. >>> oh boy. more than 1000 santas gathered at san francisco's civic center today to start their annual santa-con pub control. imbiding in the spirit of christmas. among their rules, pay with cash, tip well and walk or take public transportation. >>> if they held this tomorrow they would need an

representative jackie spear. >> we've now ruled out corrosion, the preexisting leak, and a piercing of the pipe by some excavation. so we now move on to looking for yet another cause. >> it's a very, very slow process. very exhaustive process, but a necessary process. we have to get to the bottom of this, not just because of san bruno, but because of what this holds for other neighborhoods and communities around california, and the country. >> one issue of concern to them is that the investigation found the 30-inch pipe had welding seams, which is in contrast to previous claims by pg&e that it was seamless. pg&e representatives claim there is no difference in the regulation of seamless versus welded pipe. nevertheless, they're asking for a meeting next week with regulating authorities and pg&e to discuss the issue and future pipe assessments. meantime, federal investigators say there is much more information to go through, including analyzing the chemical and mechanical properties of the pipe, as well as unspecified environmental factors at the accident site. >> reporter: the national

congresswoman jackie spear and members of the city council hosted the meeting. representatives of pg&e and the ntsb were there to answer questions. before the meeting, some neighbors say they had plenty of questions and that pg&e was avoiding answering them. >> pg&e guys say last month, they said we could talk any time. now it's been two weeks. what's going on? let's be honest. don't tell me one thing and say another thing. it's like this over and over again. >> we would have liked more answers from the ntsb and the cpu c as to, of course, what happened on the pipelines. >> the san francisco chronicle reported today that an audit of pg&e and pipelines performed four months before the september explosion, suggesting the utility took short cuts during inspections of high pressure natural gas lines. >>> school officials say a perfect storm is brewing in the california school system, just as the k-12 population is growing, a wave of teachers is leaving, and fewer people are seeking credentials to fill those vacancies. the loss of current teachers is due to retiremen

congresswoman jackie spear and members of the city council hosted this meeting.resentatives of pg&e and the ntsb were there to answer questions. before the meeting some neighbors said they had plenty of questions and that pg&e wasn't answering them. >> pg&e guys say last month they said we could talk to them any time. now it's another two weeks. well, what's going on? just be honest with us. don't tell had he one thing and say another thing -- me one thing and say another thing. >> we would like some more answers from the ntsb and the cpuc as to, of course, what happened on the pipeline. >> the san francisco chronicle reported today that an audit of pg&e pipeline performed four months before the september explosion suggests the utility took short-cuts during its inspections of the high pressure natural gas line. >>> the lame duck congress has begun its last week of work before the new members of congress take their seats. lawmakers have a long to do list. >> the senate will come to order. >> reporter: senators met for a rare sunday session to debate a nuclear arm

congresswoman jackie spear an members of the city council hosted this meeting. representatives of pg&e and southbound were there ntsb. >> they say last month they said we could talk to them anytime now it is another two weeks. what's going on? let's be honest. don't tell me one thing and say another thing. it is like that over and over again. >> bewould like some more answers from the ntsb to what happened on the pipeline. >> the san francisco chronicle reported today that an audit of pg&e pipelines performed four months before the september explosion suggest the utility took shortcuts during its inspections of those high pressured natural gas lines. >>> the injured sea lion named silent knight is no longer silent. the six year old is recovering from pellet gun wounds. the vet said he is responding to his care takers and the swelling on his head is going down. silent knight was found on the beach on december 8th and whoever shot him has not been found. we will be right back. special treat for sky [ male announcer ] the face of hunger in this country is all aroun

thank you, mayor knew some, -- may newsom, mayor brown, jackie speare, the former president of the health commission when prop. 8 past, the health commission, turner construction, derek miller, the arts commission, the staff of laguna honda, our labor partners, and the entire san francisco community for your support in ensuring laguna honda has a bright future. [applause]

representative jackie spear became involved when a constituent brought to her attention a shrek glassen away at mcdonald's that had high levels of cadmium. >> and upon hearing about it, i had my staff go out and buy these glasses, and called the consumer products safety commission, they came, picked them up and within 10 days, mcdonald's had decided to withdraw all of the product from their stores. >> spear has introduced legislation to protect children from hazardous levels of metals and chemicals. >>> the clock is ticking toward a dead line on san francisco hosting the next america's cup. the sailing trophy is currently held by oracle ceo larry ellison who will pick the site for the next event. san francisco is lobbying hard to win the prestigious regatta but so is new port, rhode island, and at least one other venue. san francisco has been told it will lose the right to host the next america's cup unless an agreement is signed by next fr friday. >>> a promise of brighter days ahead. the forecast is next. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> robert lyle is in for lawrence karnow tonight. and yo

representative jackie spear became involved when a constituent brought to her attention a shrek glass given away at mcdonald's that had toxic levels of cadmium. >> upon hearing about it i had my staff go out and buy the glasses and called the consumer product safety commission and they came and picked them up and within 10 days, pháeubg's had decided to withdraw all of the -- mcdonald's had decided to withdrawal all of the products from the stores. >> they have looked at protecting children from hazardous metals and chemicals in products. >>> and we like to have you here. but are you bringing with you fog? >> a lot of fog. as a matter of fact, let's look at conditions outside, as we speak. right now, we do see some fog creeping in from the ocean. that's a live look at the embarcadero. we are seeing clear skies right now. but don't expect that to last. the coast guard is tellings that you they're having a visibility of about a half a mile and slowly creeping west. that means the fog is only going to get worse. why is there so much fog out there? we're seeing mild temperatures. 59 degre

bay area congress woman jackie spear says she's pressuring irs officials to make a special exception.g&e is warning while they plan to meet the natural gas needs of its peninsula customers, they're concerned the pipe could create delivery problems if temperatures get colder. and some san francisco city offices and services will be closed for a short staff this weeks due to work furloughs. essential city services will still be provided but many city workers are taking forced days off as part of the budget deal signed by the mayor. a spokesman for the mayor says it's not a total government shutdown. he's asked every department to minimize impact of the furloughs to the public. it calls for the closure of nonessential services between christmas and new year's. 4:38. when i was driving in this morning, mike, i didn't hit any showers but i know they're out there and where are they now? >> mainly across the north bay and lurking offshore into the afternoon hours. here's what happened while you were sleeping. the low sank a little further to the south, pushed the main plume of moisture to th

representative jackie spear became involved when a constituent brought to her attention a shrek glass given away at mcdonalds that had toxic levels of cad many people. >> if i'm hearing about it i had my staff go out and buy these glasses. called the consumer product safety commission. they came and picked them up. within ten days mcdonald had decided to withdraw all of this product from their stores. >>> she introduced legislation to protect children from hazardous levels of chemicals and toxins. >>> the clock is am ticking on america hosting the next america's cup. the sailing is currently held by oracle ceo barry ellison. he gets to pick the next city. san francisco is lobbying hard but so is newport rhode island and at least one other venue. san francisco has been told it will lose the right to host the next america's cup unless an agreement is signed by next friday. >>> robert is back talking about the fog and some rain in the forecast. >> that is exactly right. as a matter of fact, a very warm day has revealed a very mild night. as we take a live look behind us at the embarcader

of the 12 members of the house, only jackie spear and pete stark and zoe loftgren opposed the version. and the speaker of the house? no position. >> so they're called blue dogs saying they intend to support the senate version, republican leaders say members will support meaning give or take 30 more democrats in z.this is going to pass. white cause calling on democrats for the vote. >> no question goitsing to be close. >> thank you. >> and no matter what happens there is a good chance the state income taxes will go down in the new year. and there is critics believe it isn't worth what it will cost the government. for workers in cal al expiration of the quarter percent tax hike means paychecks will be bigger starting next month. and for those with kids, they'll be able to take advantage of a bigger tax credit that. means a little more money in the wallets of 11 million taxpayers in california. >> there is extra movies and dinner out. something nice. >> for a single person making 100,000s wind advisories out depend yents, tax liabilities will fall about $240. for a maebed couple filing j

jackie spears says the ntsb update rules down the cause. >> we now move on to looking for yet another cause. >> reporter: the damage section of the pipeline was taken to an ntsb lab for analysis. what investigators did find was that the pipeline was not seamless but had been welded together with many seams. >> it troubles me, greatly and i think that that is one of the issues that we have to address swiftly. >> as part of this investigation we have been conducting an exhaustive check of our records to ensure their accuracy. we're providing all of this information to the ntsb. >> reporter: ntsb offered no information about the incorrect condition of the pipe but have not -- paul palavos mother lives within a block of the blast zone. >> hopefully they will get it right to make sure everything is okay. as far as that, no. she feels very safe. >>> one concern for lawmakers is if pg & e lawmakers were correct about this pipeline, what about the rest in their system. ntsb investigators will return to continue their work. a final report is expected later this year. ken pritchett, ktvu news.

and this jackie spear says she does not believe they were inspected by the utility. >> i want to make sure that this law is being followed by cpuc and pg&e. >> and to date i don't believe it has. >> do you think it's given a pass? >> the california public utilities commission does not return our repeated requests for information but pg&e president admitted the utility is undertaking a review. >> we've been taking steps to reassure customer that's they can have confidence in pg&e's system. >> residents in the san bruno neighborhood are not reassured. >> we'd like to note truth of the situation and reality of it. that is very distressing news. >> chris jackson says regulators should have checked on pg&e. >> there is we pay our state to do this. >> the head of the engineering department says the pipe had been proper lynn suspected. >> there is no difference in regulations between seamless pipes and those that have seam autos congress woman spear asked to all attend a neighborhood meeting this sunday to get to the bottom that have issue. and the ntsb's preliminary report says it could be

jackie spears says the ntsb update rules down the cause. >> we now move on to looking for yet another cause. >> reporter: the damage section of the pipeline was taken to an ntsb lab for analysis. what investigators did find was that the pipeline was not seamless but had been welded together with many seams. >> it troubles me, greatly and i think that that is one of the issues that we have to address swiftly. >> as part of this investigation we have been conducting an exhaustive check of our records to ensure their accuracy. we're providing all of this information to the ntsb. >> reporter: ntsb offered no information about the incorrect condition of the pipe but have not -- paul palavos mother lives within a block of the blast zone. >> hopefully they will get it right to make sure everything is okay. as far as that, no. she feels very safe. >>> one concern for lawmakers is if pg & e lawmakers were correct about this pipeline, what about the rest in their system. ntsb investigators will return to continue their work. a final report is expected later this year. ken pritchett, ktvu news.

jackie spears says the ntsb report gives some clues. >> we've revealed some piercing of piles due to some excavations. we now move on looking for yet another cause. >> reporter: the damage section of pipeline was taken to an ntsb lab for analysis. what analysis found that the pipeline was not intact like p & g said, but had many repaired areas. there is no indication that seams or a lack there of played a role in the explosion. with the final report still pending, neighbors are stuck waiting for answers. paul palavo's mother lives within a block of the area. >> let's hope they get it right, other than that she feels safe. >> reporter: pg & e's record about this particular pipeline is wrong, what about the rest of the system. ntsb investigators will return to this scene in january to continue their investigation. a final report is expected late next year. in san bruno, ktvu news. >>> now back to that developing news from a strip mall, that gun battle that killed an innocent mother who was putting her 2-year-old into her car. we have late details on what happened, kevin riggs has the s

. >> alan: peninsula congresswoman jackie spear sponsored the summit.the democrat believes a full recovery of the central valley chinook salmon could spawn 94,000 jobs and generate $5 billion in new revenue. >> golden gate field track workers are trying to gain support in a dispute with management over health and retirement benefits. the union local 304 handed out leaflights in albany. they. >> the bottom line is our members haven't gotten a raise in five years. as we speak, they're being pushed to medicare, met can medi-cal, they have a decent medical plan. >> alan: they represent groundskeepers and other maintenance workers. the track spokesperson has not responded to our request for comment today. >>> on monday, a federal appeals court will hear arguments on same-sex marriage in california. a diverse here here to there the panel well review a lower court ruling that same-sex couples have the same rights at opposite sex couples. we will be airing this session on our web site, abc7news.com, and eric thomas will be hosting the live web cast. >> the city

in other news this morning, congresswoman jackie spear will be at a town hall meeting this afternoon for residents of san bruno. federal investigators still haven't determined the cause of the blast that killed eight people and destroyed as many as 38 homes back in september. spears says some possible causes have already been ruled out like internal or external corrosion or a preexisting leak. now she says investigators need to explore new possibilities, perhaps metal fatigue in the pipelining, human your. representatives of the national transportation safety board and pg&e will be at the meeting. it is this afternoon at 2:00. in oakland another demand for action over the fatal police shooting of an unarmed business owner. the family of derrick jones will hold a news conference this afternoon. jones was shot and killed last month when police responded to a domestic disturbance call at his barber shot. he had a small pocket scale when he was shot. relatives are dissatisfied with ongoing police probes. anthony bats, police chief, has asked the f.b.i. to have an independent investigatio

. >> the peninsula congresswoman jackie spears son sored the summit. she believes the recovery could spawn 94,000 new jobs and generate $5 billion in new revenue per year. tomorrow a federal appeals court panel of three judges will hear constitutional arguments for and against same sex marriage. they're reviewing a federal district judge's ruling that proposition 8 which bans those marriages is unconstitutional. judge vaughan walker made that ruling. he also issued a stay blocking same sex marriages while the appeals court examines the case. same sex couples who want to marry have been waiting ever since. >> almost tangible, the way it feels not having legal recognition from the state. it feels like society's discouraging you. >> back in august the two had been hoping they could tell family and friends to join them at san francisco city hall for a legal wedding to follow a commitment ceremony they had but they are still waiting. at tomorrow's hearing, the three-judge panel at the 9th circuit court of appeals wants those who oppose the marriages explain

jackie spear requested the least among lawmakers just $21 million of the of the $131 billion requestede not going get it next year but maybe 2012. >> do you think it will be easier? >> i think it's hard. you know? easier in? >> no. >> there is a list of the members of the house and amount of money requested through those earmarks. we've linked to it this story on abc news.com just go to abc 7 news and click on politics page. >> it's quite a wish list. >> yes. >> thank you. >> and governor elect brown promised painful cuts coming to california. and he made one of the first of them today. there is a woman considered a government watch dog. and man yet miranda reports from sacramento. >> in the shadows of the state capitol a tiny office overseas how the state has been spending $50 billion of money but it's one of the first casualties of the government-elect jerry broub. axd two days before brown is sworn in. >> they're saving money. and there is the governor being able to stand up at the beginning of the term. and say i cut to the bare bones. >> limb nating ig's office six months early sa

but jackie spear is promising a fight over this. she vows to make sure that none of the money has to be declared as taxable gross income. the tax issue came up yesterday during the latest town hall meeting. congresswoman spear was there a long with representatives from the irs, pg&e and the national transportation safety board. everyone says they are determined to find out precisely what went wrong three months ago. >> we continue to patrol line 132 the line that cup run -- ruptured on an ongoing basis. >> there is no external corrosion, no excavation damage, and no prior leak was found. >> federal investigators say they may soon subpoena witnesses to testify at a public hearing on capitol hill early next creek. the ntsb has held 12 public hearing in the past five years including one in the san francisco bay. >>> two earthquakes shook things up on the peninsula. a 2.4 quake hit shortly after 6:40 last night. that was hit by a magnitude of 3.1. the u.s. geological survey says it received a thousand reports for some that felt the larg

congresswoman jackie spear will be at a town hall meeting for residents of san bruno. federal investigators are not determined the cause of the blast that killed eight people and destroyed as many as 38 homes back in september. spears says some possible causes have already been ruled out like internal or external corrosion or a preexisting leak. now she says investigators need to explore new possibilities, perhaps metal fatigue in the pipeline or even human error. representatives of the national transportation safety board and pg&e will be at the meeting this afternoon at 2:00. in oakland another demand for action over the fatal police shooting of an unarmed business owner. the family of derrick jones will hold a news conference this afternoon. jones was shot and killed last month when police responded to a domestic disturbance call at his barber shop. he had a small pocket scale in his possession when he was shot. relatives are dissatisfied with ongoing police probes. anthony bats has asked the f.b.i. to come in to conduct an independent investigation. this week presi

jackie spears says she's pressuring irs officials to make an exception.g&e is warning while it plans to meet the natural gas needs of its peninsula customers, it's concerned the loss of that pipe could delay delivery if the temperatures get colder. essential city services will still be provided but many city workers are taking forced days off as part of the city budget deal signed by mayor gavin newsom. the mayor has asked every department to try to minimize the impact of the furloughs to the public. the agreement with city labor unions calls for the closure of nonessential services between christmas and new year's. this is also the day a lot of kids are starting their christmas break. mike, they're starting with a wet note and it's going to stay wet quite a few more days. >> i think so. i think they'll get outside at times. the playgrounds and ball fields will be impossible to play on unless you want to be knee deep in mud. a little change in the pattern as the steadier rain shifted and stayed to the south. even with this low to our north, kind of caught

representative jackie spear is asking for a meeting next week with pg&e and regulatory authorities to discuss the issue. >> i want to get a firm commitment, that the appropriate assessments of the pipeline will be conducted by pg&e, according to the law. >> reporter: spear said this explosion gave pg&e a horrific wakeup call, that she hopes will send a message to utility companies across america. >> i think any utility looking at this explosion will want to take the kinds of steps that pg&e is taking now. which is putting in place automatic and remote shutoff valves at the appropriate locations. it is unacceptable that an hour and 46 minutes passed before the gas was turned off. >> reporter: today pg&e representatives say they are continuing to cooperate with this investigation. they also say they are committed to the citizens and to the city of san bruno during this recovery process. live in san bruno, kimberly terry, nbc, bay area news. >> kimberly, thank you. >>> a storm is pushing its way over the bay area. jeff ranieri is tracking the rain in the weather center. jeff, a possibili

bay area congresswoman jackie spear says she's pressuring irs officials to make an exception here.e is warning while it plans to meet the natural gas needs of its peninsula customers, it's concerned the loss of that pipe could create delivery problems if temperatures get colder. some san francisco city offices and services will be closed for short staff this week due to work furloughs. city services will still be provided but many city workers are taking forced days off as part of the city budget deal signed by mayor. it's not a total government shutdown. the mayor has asked every department to minimizes the impact of the furloughs to the public. it calls for the closure of nonessential services between christmas and new year's. it's 5:37. if you check out the scene behind me on the upper deck it looks dry. check with mike and find out if there's showers and where they might be. >> megan mentioned several accidents around napa. here's that cell that just pushed through. now it's moving across -- wooden valley road and heading up. it should be moving away at a rather healthy clip bu

the irs said there a lot of variables, but congresswoman jackie spear was not satisfied. she called on the irs commissioner to come personally to address the concerns. now pg&e is under scrutiny. it was revealed last week the utility was unaware the pipeline that ruptured had a weld on the sign. the federal regulations require the kind of wells to be inspected when they occur on pipelines in densely populated areas. >>> people in mexico cleaning up after a massive oil pipeline explosion there. cars, homes and trees were incinerated in the blast. at least 28 people were killed. many of them children. more than 100 homes were damage and 5,000 residents were affected. police in mexico think the blast followed by four additional explosions was caused by thieves trying to steal crude oil. >> per a man held in prison for 20 years for a crime he did not commit will be in court today. maurice caldwell will find out if he can walk free or be retried for a 1990 murder. they overturn his sentence after new evidence revealed who the real killer is. he's a man who left the bay area af

jackie spear and pg&e's vice president of gas transmission will speak today at 2:00 at the san bruno center. this as an audit reveals the utility company may have taken short cuts during gas line inspections that skip over problems like weak welding. it's one of the factors the ntsb says may have contributed to the explosion. >>> tomorrow walgreens will team up with the government to give free flu shots to folks who don't have insurance in the east bay. starting tomorrow get a voucher at a public health office in oakland and eight underserved cities in alameda county and trade that in for a free flu shot at any walgreens pharmacy. if you need a flu shot and can't afford one, find more information on-line at flu.gov. >>> facebook might want to take its own advice and watch what it posts on-line. the social networking site accidentally exposed a new website features it has in the works. facebook disabled the site for 45 minutes and then tweeted an apology after they caught the leak, but that was more than enough time for folks to get a sneak peek. so, just what was leaked? and what can

the bill died in congress last week but representative jackie spears says she will reintroduce it nexttoration would have provided habitat for endangered animals like the california clapper rail. there are only 1200 or so left of the birds along the san francisco bay marshes. >>> the second harvest food bank received 11,000 pounds of food donations from a pot dispensary in so cal. that dispensary offered a free joint for every four cans of food. it ended up giving away 2,000 free joints. >>> let's see how the morning commute is looking out there. we were talking about a lot of hazards out there on the roadway. how are we looking now, mike? >> overall the commute as you might expect between christmas and new year's, very light volume of traffic but that rain played havoc on our roadways. the flooding starting to pick up. we still have pleasanton sunol road blocked by a tree. christie smith is live on scene. she'll show you the pictures. it is a frontage road which is often an alternate to 680. you can't use it this morning. 680 is clear so no need for that but foothill road is just a li

>> first up is going to be a meeting that jackie spears will have with federal regulators said pg&e totions. also, coming down the road in january the ntsb will be coming back here, the conduct or interviews including interviews with two pg&e officials that they were able to talk to before, because were so shaken up because of this. >> people the community want answers because there's still pipes that >> air. it could be well before the final report comes out. >> looks like three more houses will be torn down in the glenview neighborhood of san bruno. the homes were originally yellow tag did not qualify to be torn down along with a 35 that were demolished after the fire. the city council will be voting on an item tonight to that will for the demolition of the three homes. in the months after the fire insurance adjusters determined to the damage on the yellow tag homes was too expensive and extensive and it would not be cost- effective to keep them off it would be better to tear them down and start over the cost of demolition for this project is about $90,000 and would eventually be pai

yesterday in san bruno jackie spear levittown on meeting between victims and the irs. she call their representatives from the irs for not being clear with their answers. >> what i want to do is report back to the commissioner of the revenue service that he should do the sampling which is used his destruction so we are how to go to the charade frankly as it relates to the money received by these persons who lost their alms, are coping enough and don't need the ira's reading down the necks. (applause) she argues that money received after disaster should not be suspect to income tax. much more weather tropical news coming out. good news bart is no lockers in the tracking to the trans bay to should resume full service at 4:30 a.m. still there is consensus, there should be ran off and on debt the day, nothing compared to resolve the weekend.what we sawe weekend. welcome back, bridge check, here's the bay bridge toll plaza you can see traffic is very light. the roadway, is is slightly slicks, driving in from fremont there are some pots is where was completely dry. louisa say

congresswoman jackie spear is promising to fight that.he is vowing to ensure that it does not have to be declared as taxable gross income. >>> the massive project to build the eastern span of the bay bridge is ahead of schedule. we have time lapse photography of the construction work. crews are showing the giant steel legs of the 525-foot tower. caltrans hopes to install all four piece business christmas day. >>> latest national survey shows san francisco has the highiest prices in the country for gas. the average price for a gallon of regular is 3.29. that compares to the national average of $3.00. denver has the least another $ $22-point 6. >>> right now things are well around the bay area. we suspected this week would be different from a normal week as some schools are out. we have had nothing but good traffic on the bay bridge into the city. chp report some crashes but not as many as normal since the volume is lighter. let's look at the commute in san francisco if you are driving to downtown looks good up to the 80 split. this morning