jean elle. ♪♪ >> 6:00, somebody playing piano in the bar, 7:00, improv, 8:00, new play, 9:00, there'surlesque show. >> reporter: rob misses the artistic variety and crowds on busy night at piano fight in san francisco. >> really cranking saturday, 400 or 500 people over the course of the night. >> reporter: stages went dark more than a year ago. glimmer of hope with covid-19 rates dropping and vaccination increasing, will allow indoor events to reopen at limited capacity depending on the tier the county is in, guidance the san francisco health department is reviewing and will consider local rules. >> it's a great step towards getting back to some semblance of normalcy. >> reporter: but won't be reopening. deep in debt, he says smaller crowds won't cut it economically. >> the idea of operating at far from full capacity is just a financially losing proposition. so i will be pretty surprised if you saw a bunch of venues open april 15th. >> reporter: the independent performance venues san francisco is known for need start-up cash from the federal, state and local government, time to staff

here is "today in the bay's" jean elle. >> reporter: a crisis on the streets during a pandemic.n covid-19 hit in 2020, an estimated 8,000 people were homeless in san francisco. 3,000 spending nights in places like shelters and navigation centers, 5,000 out on the streets. >> i got to stay on some people's couch for a couple weeks, and some people helped me with their travel points to stay in motels. >> reporter: 65-year-old susan griffin says members of her church were doing all they could to keep her off the streets, like so many without a home, she was at risk of getting covid. the department of homelessness and supportive housing or hsh ramped up services. >> we expanded our system of care dramatically, leading the country in what was a data-driven public health-driven response to people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. >> reporter: setting up safe sleeping tent sites for about 300 people. the department bought two hotels with state funds, supportive housing for 400 and opened 25 shelter-in-place hotels placing nearly 2,000 people in their own rooms with private

if the year's taught us anything, it's that don't plan too far ahead. >> reporter: jean elle, "today in the bay." >>> after more than a year, this is the day giants fans have been waiting for, the team's home opener begins in just a few hours and yes, fans will be able to watch the game in person, inside of oracle park, but of course, things will be a little different this year. fans must be fully vaccinated or prove that they have a negative covid test result. once inside the park, everyone must wear those masks at all times, except when eating and drinking in your assigned seat. nbc bay area's cierra johnson has the excitement from outside oracle park this morning and a live report starting in the next half hour. >>> nbc sports bay area is your home for today's home opener. special giants coverage kicks off at 12:30 this afternoon ahead of the first pitch, set to take place a little later at 1:35. >>> a successful rollout, still ahead on "today in the bay," the northern california county that is making the most progress when it comes to vaccinating kids. >>> plus rolling into the r

"today in the bay's" jean elle talked with a church member who heard and saw it all. >> what i try to [ bleep ] this ain't a [ bleep ] -- >> reporter: the easter sunday service took a racest and vulgar term on the zoom link. >> putting together some evil sentences about hating people in various ethnic groups. >> reporter: 74-year-old barbara taft says she heard and saw it all. >> turning his back to the camera and lowering his pants and mooning the camera. >> reporter: eventually someone at the outdoor service silenced the hateful guest. reverend george oliver says it hurt. >> to have a flagrant display of white supremacy at the most progressive church in san jose is unconscionable. >> reporter: reverend oliver is in the process of filing a police report and calling on zoom to track down the offenders and to restrict their access. >> we did not invite that into our church. that platform allowed that to happen. >> reporter: in a statement, zoom says it takes disruptions seriously and where appropriate work closely with law enforcement authorities. there is a go fund me for grace ban li

jean elle, "today in the bay." sfx: foliage rustling. sfx: mulching.fest before it's too late. home to any budget. home to any possibility. >>> now at 5:00 on the eve of his first 100 days a big test for president biden as he prepares to address congress. our team is live on capitol hill digging deeper into what he's expected to cover on key issues including the pandemic and gun control. >>> right here, he asked me mommy, mommy, mommy, my papi passed away. my papi died? how can i say died? somebody killed him. >> now calls for justice after the death of an east bay man in police custody. the new body camera footage and why his family is saying it didn't have ty. >>> asking you conserve. more bay area water districts take new action as drought conditions worsen. "today in the bay" continues now. it's wednesday morning, thanks so much for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm

jean elle, "today in the bay." >>> in just a few hours, the jury, attorneys and witnesses return to the courtroom for the seventh day of testimony in the derek chauvin trial. prosecutors are building their case against the former minneapolis police officer in the death of george floyd. police witnesses have testified chauvin violated department policy in pinning his knee on floyd's neck as he struggled to breathe. minneapolis police chief arrendondo took the stand yesterday. at one point, he told the jury why he thinks derek chauvin abused his power. >> and clearly when mr. floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back, that in no way shape or form is anything that is by policy. >> the county medical examiner is also expected to take the stand this week. >>> san mateo county supervisors today will debate a resolution to condemn anti-asian violence and declare the county a hate-free zone. in oakland the man accused of the deadly attack of an elderly asian man at lake merritt to due to enter

jean elle has more from san francisco. >> reporter: experts debate the need to continue to wear a mask outside, some people we talked to tonight, including giants fans, say they will continue to wear the mask, even if the rules change. giants fans, socially distanced and in the new fully vaccinated section of tonight's game are required to wear a mask unless eating or drinking. many fans say they don't mind. >> masks aren't a problem to me. it's more -- it's not just for you, it's for other people, as well. >> we'll send that message that masks are great and we'll do whatever we can for the greater good. >> reporter: but with covid cases dropping and vaccine distribution becoming more widespread in california, experts are beginning to question requiring masks outside. dr. monica ghandi says while they're needed outside when people gather and cheer, they aren't needed all the time. >> there is lots of data that points, and a lot of it came out recently, about how well it is outdoors. >> i think it's some time down the line, maybe after june 15th this could be revisited. >> reporter: and

as "today in the bay's" jean elle reports, some are offering free goodies to entice people to come in and get shots. >> reporter: the demand for covid vaccines is dropping all over the bay area. in richmond, empty chairs and idle workers and the san mateo event center, lots of room for cars to roll in. peter stenson tried to get a vaccine at this quiet site in daly city last week. >> over 100 people all the way to the back, huge line. today was just a walk-in. >> reporter: no line, no appointment needed and no wait. >> it's amazing. >> reporter: stanford medicine is seeing a steep drop in demand as well. >> we're seeing more unfilled vaccination slots and appointments. >> reporter: it's good news for anyone looking for a vaccine but not for public health. san mateo county says 70% of its population has had at least one shot, but stanford dr. yvonne maldonado says to keep covid cases low, vaccination rates need to increase. >> what you need to do is get to 70% to 80% of people vaccinated to keep that number very low and we're not there yet. we're almost there. >> reporter: with supply

jean elle, nbc bay area news. >>> new rules for disneyland and other california theme parks. of state visitors are now allowed. however, they must be fully vaccinated. right now, disneyland is planning to welcome back california only residents on april 30th. but sea world in san diego has updated its website allowing for out of state visitors. but you have to be vaccinated if you have friends or family coming from out of state. all theme parks are allowed to reopen april 1 with limited capacity. >>> new at 11:00, smoke from wildfires impacts our health in a variety of ways. it now appears it threatens our skin. a new study finds even short-term exposure to hazardous air quality from wildfire smoke can be damaging to your skin. in november of 2018 when the catch fire in butte county was impacting our air quality, there was an uptick in patients worried about eczema. >>> tomorrow is earth day. so take a deep dive into the ocean floor. nbc lx will be doing just that. watch it live and see firsthand how climate change and pollution is impacting a coral reef in florida. this live

jean elle, nbc bay area news. >>> speaking of school, good news for student athletes. the state is now allowing teams to travel farther for games. before teams could only face opponents within their own county or neighboring county. now that rule is gone. players will still have to follow social distancing rules. and if they're on the sidelines, they'll have to wear masks. >>> it is the common strain in america, the variant discovered in the uk. the big concern is this variant is more dangerous than other screens. >> the uk variant is more transmissible. it's about 50% more transmissible than what we had before. but understand when you say transmisble, what we mean is if you get this into your throat, into your lungs, your chances of getting infected go up, right? it's stickier. it makes better bonds to the cellular receptors. now, the good news is, our homegrown variants, the so-called west coast variants, seem to be outcompeting it in a kind of evolutionary sense. >> he went on to say the west coast variants are keeping the uk variant at lower levels. take a look at

. >> reporter: jean elle, nbc bay area news. >>> one of the most beautiful stretches of highway reopened, highway 1 lost road south of big sur in january after mud slide, gaping hole. through traffic not expected to reopen until june but look how beautiful that is, wide open. crosses rat creek, fully reinforced and topped with new pavement. crews wrapped up two months early, governor newsom making the trip to formerly reopen the road. looks great. >>> jeff ranieri with us now. saturday we're good, tomorrow, then figure out sunday here? >> yes. yeah. it's one of those just be lazy days on sunday. maybe whole weekend. maybe you had a long week. i think the weather is going to cooperate, much different than the record-setting 80s last weekend. storm ranger mobile doppler radar, only one in the bay area, close to the ground, better scan of what's happening out there. few showers off the northern coastline could bring spotty showers overnight and into tomorrow morning but holding off on better chance until sunday. as we begin you'll see start off with 51 in the south bay. 48 in the tri-valley

. >> jean elle. >>> tense moments in san mateo county. a man was rescued after a tree fell on him in butano state park. help was working in the fire zone, possibly trimming or pruning trees. that's when the tree fell on him. rescuers used a rope system to pull him down a hill to an awaiting helicopter. no word on his condition. >>> up next, those who lost their job in the pandemic. the step that san francisco is taking to help people get back to work. >>> what if you lose the covid vaccine card? we will walk you through the ways you can get a replacement. >>> and we will see chilly conditions across the bay area, and clouds and cool temperatures now. in time for the weekend. we are tracking a warmup when we come back. wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. over the next 10 years

we begin with "today in the bay's" jean elle on why you may still have to wait for your return. >>> the supply and demand mismatch will be problematic. >> we have a shortage but hope is coming. >> reporter: the chief medical officer for bay area community health says hope in the form of more vaccines is coming, but if everyone 50 years and older joins the already long eligibility line, the wait continues. >> in the previous category, 65 plus, and people with medical conditions, some teachers, they all have not been vaccinated yet. so they are still in the line to get vaccinations. >> reporter: the doctor says the competition for an appointment about to increase significantly will be difficult to find one, but she says state officials are telling counties relief is coming in a matter of weeks. >> as the supply of vaccines will increase starting april 15th tremendously. i am hopeful for that. >> reporter: chief medical officers say they are set up and ready to offer more appointments as soon as supply increases. >> as soon as we get more vaccines we will be ready to administer as quickly

here's jean elle. >> reporter: a chris on the streets during a pandemic. when covid-19 hit in 2020, an estimated 8,000 people were homeless in san francisco. 3,000 spending nights in places like shelters and navigation center. 5,000 out on the streets. >> i got to stay on some people's couch for a couple weeks. and some people helped me with their travel points to stay in motels. >> reporter: 65-year-old susan griffin said members of her church were doing all they could to keep her off the streets. like so many without a home, she was at risk of getting covid. the department of homelessness and supportive housing or hsh ramped up services. >> we expanded our system of care dramatically. leaving the country in what was a data driven public health driven response to people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. >> reporter: setting up saif sleeping tent sites for about 200 people. supportive housing for 400 and opened 25 shelter in place hotels, placing nearly 2,000 people in their own rooms with private bathrooms. fema is covering the cost. griffin

jean elle, nbc bay area news. >> fans at the game yesterday had to prove they'd been vaccinated or have a negative covid test to get into the ballpark. they were also set up in pods and socially distanced. hand sanitizer was pretty much everywhere, along with reminders that masks are mandatory. fans also had to order their food on a mobile app and pick it up themselves. only about 9,000 fans were allowed in because of capacity limits. >>> well, if you're looking for even more giants content, we have got you covered. you can head to nbcbayarea.com and tap the "what's new at oracle park" section. you can explore this interactive map that takes you inside all the changes that fans will see this season. >>> and there's still much more ahead on "today in the bay." >>> coming up -- ♪♪ >> rapper dmx has died at the age of 50. the tributes coming in for the hip hop legend. ♪♪ >>> welcome back, everyone. you're taking a live look at the bay bridge there. some fog in the way, but we are expecting some sunshine later in the day. >>> well, the royal family is in mourning this weekend following the