joe rosato jr.hows us how one float will pay tribute. >> reporter: you could think of it as the final cramming session before a big test. with the annual pride parade just a few days away, float builder allison lowe was down to the finishing touches. >> it's all down to the details now. >> reporter: it could seem a bit daunting, knowing a million people will inspect her work this sunday, but lowe was more concerned with the people who will ride her creations. >> that day they get to celebrate who they are and be on this float. >> in the back, we're putting a big red ribbon just like the ribbon that's down here. >> reporter: this sunday's parade will carry an extra special meaning for ally. >> we're going to have people dancing and maybe even do a little zumba. >> reporter: it marks the 30th anniversary of what researchers consider the official start of the aids epidemic. morerro a caregiver at san francisco general has been there since the beginning. >> i worked in the early years. i lost many peopl

joe rosato jr. >> students at a high school are turning in their yearbooks after a photograph was printed that appears to show two students having sex. police were contacted after horrified teachers noticed the scandalous photo taken at the big bear high school dance. and they warned students who have not turned in their books could face charges of possessing child pornography. >>> not so rosie. why your beauty products may be lying to you.ildetas details of a new lawsuit today. >>> pandora faces a lawsuit and apple about your recording. >>> it turns out from a business that celebrates the young, we can learn a thing or two from a long term veteran. a triple digit birthday, scott. >> that's right. it was 100 years ago today the computing tabulating recording company, now known as ibm was born. it gave us the personal computer, hard drive developed in san jose and was the inspiration for "hal 9,000" in this movie "2001" and brought us computers that could play chess and jeopardy and to this day a tech leader and huge employer with a stock price just ten bucks away from its all time high. t

joe rosato jr. shows us what police discovered in some of the murals. >> reporter: joseph norris left a colorful mark on walls across san francisco. the city-funded kid serve that he ran helped students design tile mosaics at more than 50 schools. but following his arrest earlier this month on child pornography charges police have now discovered there may be more to his murals than just tiles. >> you would have to get close to these tiles to be able to see the inappropriate images. some of the tiles are at such a height. >> reporter: san francisco police said today investigators found some of the mosaics contained tiny images inappropriate for kids. >> i think you would look at the tiles and see possibly some sort of sexual connotation to them. >> reporter: police say the images were about a square inch containing photo silhouettes and drawings. they say so far they've photographed and removed 100 tiles from four of the murals including this one at sunset elementary. >> they depict many different th

joe rosato jr., nbc bay area news. >> there is one person in this studio that has a tattoo. not going to say who it is. >> not me, so it's got to be rob maye mayeda. maybe not. is it a big sun, sunshine? >> i'll try to figure out who might have it. >> let's show you the temperatures around the bay area today. we warmed up a little bit with sunshine, but still fairly cool. how about 72 and 73? those are the warmest numbers on the map, 69 in san jose and livermore, you can probably add 5 to 10 degrees on top of the temperatures for tomorrow's highs. across the north bay, temperatures only near 70. right now we've still got the low clouds. you're seeing them spilling into the bay right now, we've got the push of marine air which will keep our temperatures comfortable for one more day and the rain has moved off to the east of the sierra allowing high pressure to build in. i want to take you out to the tropical atlantic. we could see our first hurricane, albeit briefly, forming in the western gulf of mexico, and it could impact us here in the bay area. i'll explain why in just a

nbc bay area's joe rosato jr. shows us how the tiger is bringing closure to the tragic event. >> reporter: on a soggy san francisco morning, martha, the siberian tiger, took a casual stroll through her new digs. a smattering of visitors braved the steady rain to get a look at the zoo's newest star. the last weekend the 10-year-old transplant from a nebraska zoo spent her first day's learning the subtleties of her new home. >> when she first came in she went into gaquarantine so she w healthy. >> reporter: looking plenty fit, martha bounded up the stairs from the moat, the same moat that on christmas day, 2007, was the scene of immense tragedy. >> it is part of the healing process and it's something really positive for us and we're really excited to be able to bring a tiger in again for education purposes. >> reporter: martha is the first new siberian tiger for the zoo since that christmas day when 350-pound tatiana jumped from the moat and mauled one man to dead and injured two others before she was shot to death

joe rosato jr.hows us how it may be causing a population explosion among one bay area fish. >> excuse me, peewee. >> reporter: it doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out why a bait shop owner has a lot of feathered friends. >> well, ever since we've been here, which is 40 years now, we've had a number of what we refer to as pet wild birds. >> reporter: though keith frazier's pals may have motives beyond friendship, he's happy for the company at his san rafael loch lomond bait shop. >> all of them at one time or another will just walk right into the bait shop and help themselves. here you go. this is nasty sr. who we lost a couple of years ago. >> reporter: family photos take up much of the store, but frazier still has plenty of wall space left for fish stories. >> it's a seven to eight-foot sturgeon. he was fishing right off china camp. >> reporter: and this year the nearby waters of san pablo bay are generating plenty of tales. the last several months, recreational fishermen have encountere

joe rosato jr. shows us how it's causing problems for some and yet relief for many. >> reporter: the flood gates at folsom dam rage with a cascade of water. it's a sign warmer weather is finally here and the sierra snow is finally melting. as a result, the swollen american river is surging at 190% of normal. the san joaquin river, 180%. >> as expected, the snow is starting to melt. it's been a delayed melt due to the cold weather that we've had this early spring. >> reporter: this week the snow runoff is expected to hit its peak for the season. in yosemite, officials are calling for evacuations over the next few days because of the potential for flooding. but among the rest of california's water systems, officials have been bracing for this runoff for months. >> we've been coordinating operations with the national weather service, the corps of engineers and reservoir operators for two or three months to make sure that the reservoirs have made space to accommodate that snow melt. >> reporter: after s

joe rosato jr. shows us how some are marking its return. >> reporter: it's a sound that hasn't been heard on this street in half a year. >> mason street, mason. fairmont hotel, grace cathedral. >> reporter: the rumble of a cable car, the tolling of its bell. erik williams back at the grip. >> i'm eager to see the regulars, you know the locals. we've got a locals who you become friendly with. >> reporter: for the last six months, the 17 blocks of california street have been without their rolling wooden ambassadors. it was closed down to make way for a $24 million track renovati renovation. >> well, there have been all kinds of electrical and mechanical kinds of things going on. also california street has been repaved, which will be good for the motorists. >> reporter: but today, the city celebrated the return of the california line and williams celebrated by getting back to work. >> the most interesting thing is just meeting a whole lot of people from around the world, you know. that's the most inter

. >> their rehabilitation methods are unique and here is joe rosato jr.progress report. >> reporter: anyone who moves into a new home spends some time getting used to the layout. at the san francisco zoo, blind sea lion, silent night, and henry, are feeling out their digs inch by inch. >> they started exploring more and more so they used the whole pool. >> reporter: these famous sea lions moved to the san francisco zoo just over a month ago after they were nursed back to health at the marine mammal center. silent night had been shot in the face and blinded. >> but definitely to work with two animals who weren't trained before they were blind that came in from the wild, we did have to customize a plan just for them. >> come on, good boy. >> reporter: keeper debra marin is using sounds and food to teach silent night commands. >> we've attached sounds to the target. so silent night has a bell and he knows that's his sound. henry has a little canister of beads that sounds like a maraca. >> reporter: the training will enable keepers to give medicine and remove

as joe rosato, jr., shows us, one in store. >> reporter: the typical postcard view of san francisco normallyoasts the city's rolling wooden ambassadors. only today, the actual view wasn't quite as scenic. >> i would still take the shuttle bus. >> instead of a line of visitors running around the cable car turnaround there was a pitiful sight. >> to sit down and not walking. this he have to fix the bottom of the tracks. >> reporter: as part of a major track renovation, all three of the cable car lines are down this week leaving plenty of disappointed visitors. >> we've been promising our granddaughter this trip on the cable car for so long and now we're missing the cable car. we're so sad. >> reporter: with no cable cars in sight, visitors snapped photos of empty tracks. some got in line anyway. >> i think they wanted the most attractive stuff in san francisco is cable car. i like it. and i would like to take a picture of them and they're gone. >> reporter: while the work is going on, buses are standing in for cable cars, but it just isn't the same. >> for how long? >> reporter: a whole week.

here now is nbc bay area's joe rosato, jr., who shows us the artist and his inspiration. >> reporter: there was once a time when historic deeds and people were immortalized in bronze. >> what you're looking at is the makings of oscar schindler. >> reporter: now in an east bay foundry. oakland artist's view is taking shape. >> this is the martin luther king march on selma. you really can't tell the yet because the heads are missing. >> reporter: the faces of 25 historic figures peer out from a mountain of bronze. >> in this area here is where frederick douglas's head will be. it's a big head. what it's about is remembering people who did extraordinary things under difficult circumstances. >> reporter: when it's done the sul temperature will weigh 60,000 pounds. the idea came to him 3,552 days ago, the day of the 9/11 attacks. >> i remember when 9/11 happened. that very moment i said, why would anyone do something like this? what am i doing to contribute or not? >> reporter: his contribution is a memorial that will live in a park next to oakland's fox theater in the emerging uptown dist

joe rosato jr.ws us where your money is going. >> reporter: in the east bay not far from where the fault and the valley, sits a critical piece of the bay area's water delivery system. >> this water treatment plant is one of san francisco's two water filtration plants. >> reporter: it is a backup water supply that delivers water to san francisco and 27 other cities. >> when heche isn't available we cruise in plant. >> reporter: if a major earthquake hit the bay area that entire system could be vulnerable. >> hundreds of millions a month in loss. >> reporter: at this treatment plant which filters 40 million gallons of water a day, work is under way to keep the worst from happening. >> it is like rebuilding a jet airliner while you are flying full of passengers. >> reporter: crews are building new basins to treat water and retrofitting others. it is the bond measure aimed at upgrading the system. >> the reason behind this project is to make sure when the next big one hits we're prepared to supply the w