reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> stay with us on www.ktvu.com. we have live radar and the latest weather headlines. >>> it is a trouble day for the san francisco police department. federal prosecutors announced indictments against 5 current and one former police officer. stemming from raids on residential hotels. those officers could now face millions of dollars in fines and years in prison. ktvu's david stevenson broke the story this morning and has new details about the past behavior of the officers. >> we are learning more about the indictmented officers and -- indicted officersa they prepare for a hearing tomorrow morning -- officers as they prepare for a hearing tomorrow morning. >> as the crowds cheered as a ceremony this afternoon the san francisco police department was reeling from a federal grand jury indictment. >> being betrayed by your own is going to make it hard on everybody. >> the investigation names officer arshad razzak, officer richard yick, officer raul eric elias, sergeant ian furminger, edwin russell and officer reynoldo var

john fowler got a look at a key watershed in drought struggling marin county. and john is live now with something experts haven't seen in this area. >> reporter: when it rains first it evaporates then it saturates and only then does it run off. and they are poised on that crucial third step. most of the marin county water comes from rain. and today it drizzled. check this out this is two weeks ago. this is the reservoir today. marin's water system less than 2/3 normal. they're just over half way finished pumping phoenix lake. expect water levels to go down another 10 to 12 feet. >> right now our, you know our pocketbook is drawing down. we're hurting for water. >> reporter: there's been some rain. >> that's kind of rocky. >> reporter: mark swazee ducked down to show us the season's first good news. >> it's beginning to saturate. yeah. >> and a few yards away. >> we're already seeing some, some water showing up in a little side creek here. >> reporter: culverts are still dry now but he says run off should begin with the next rain. >> we're going to have to see su

reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you very much.n on the virus. we will get more for you coming up tonight on the 10:00 p.m. news. >>> he dubbed himself the leukemia slayer,ered to marked a milestone, the new -- today marked a milestone, the new battle he is waging against cancer. hey! hi! ladies, how are you? let's taste some wine. ♪ ♪ seize your vacation with a southwest airlines sale. go to southwest.com, where our lowest fares are now available as low as $69 one-way. book now at southwest.com and carpe vacay. ♪ >>> milestone is being celebrated for the leukemia slayer. this is jacob. he calls himself the leukemia slayer. he was diagnosed in 2010 and today he had his last chemo therapy treatment. now he wants to help other kids. he raised $11,000 for childhood cancer research and he is organizing a celebration where he plans to hand out gifts to other kids with cancer. >>> mark is here now with sports. warriors in detroit tonight, in progress. >> trying to keep their win streak moving but this is their first of big road trip. it

let's go down to john fowler who's live in hailsburg with a look at some of the concerns there. it has stopped raining in heelsburg, be i i want to show you the most important picture we've seen yet this storm. this is the russian river. now i'll tell you that three days ago you could walk across this river without getting your shoes wet. right now the flows have dramatically come up. this is one of the things that has concerned the people in the north bay that we're getting a lot of runoff. now this is also very good news for the drought because this river is the key for the 1500 square miles of watershed responsible for the water for 600,000 people in the north bay. this is the best thing they've seen yet this winter. now what this means is this water will come up, and the wells that are not far from this river will then be charged through the aqua furs, through the under ground aqua furs, once that water comes up the rest of the watershed will get wet and that means that that water will be available to the people who draw it from wells. as you can see, the river is flowing st

ktvu's john fowler is live where the lead author of the report is preparing to speak. john? >> reporter: we are at concern's hospital -- children's hospital, we are waiting on a press conference. this is where doctors saw the first of five children being studied here. >> reporter: she was hospitalized two years ago with a viral lung infection and then her left arm became paralyzed. >> there is no specific treatment or cure. >> reporter: he is not her doctor but says children are vulnerable to a comb virus. it causes at most minor systems but in rare systems become paralyzing. >> we don't know what makes certain individuals predisposed individuals predisposed. >> he notes 25 children in california the last two years had the systems. they appear to be close to average levels. >> right now there is no indication that represent as larger ut break but it is important to keep this in mind to keep an eye on it. >> reporter: it is important to note this is not polio but it is related and the paralysis is not infects to others. parents are advised to look for changes in their childre

reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the sound of chainsaws was heard today as crews dealed with downed tree -- dealt with downed trees. it has been a hectic day as many trees toppled. and our coverage on the weekend storm continues at 6:15 p.m. the only region that didn't see much rain and bill will tell us when to expect another storm. >>> crisis today after a inmate tried to escape. ktvu's claudine wong is live at the courthouse where she spoke to witness whose described the scene. >> reporter: the courthouse is behind me and the jail is behind it. this attempted escape happened in the tunnels that connect and wind underneath the buildings. at 11:30 a.m. this morning the inmate decided to make a break for it. >> the inmate actually made it outside. here to the parking lot. but that is as far as he got. >> it happened so fast. i looked up, you know, get down. bodies flashed down. >> reporter: that was the end of an attempted escape that started when he was being transported. he sprayed three deputies, triggered a fire alarm and gotuds before he was tase -- got outsi

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> our coverage continues on www.ktvu.com. we created a spection to keep you -- a section to keep you up to date on the drought. look for it under hot topics. >>> university of california at berkeley police arrested a student who robbed and beat up a fellow student and the case is being investigated as a hate crime because the suspect made homophobic statements before the attack. according to police he and another student were walking yesterday when he demanded the other student's cell phone and then ordered him to go into a construction site. when the victim refused police say he was punched, kicked and choked by him. >>> a close call for a home that almost got slammed by a dump truck without breaks. the truck veered off the road. it hit another vehicle and a power pole before it stopped feet from a home. pg&e says 73 people will be without power over night till the damaged power pole is replaced tomorrow. there have been no reports of injuries. >>> evacuation ordered have been lifted following a gas leak. pg&e says a constru

john fowler is in the north bay. we begin with bill martin in the weather center. >> the rain is showing up in the north bay. the rain will come on your neighborhood in the next hour or two as the systems come in. a much-needed rainfall. events will move into the bay area. it's coming off the pacific, we have a nice like of moisture streaming in our direction. we have light showers in half moon bay, san francisco, in berkeley. richmond, look over here, we get toward the napa area, we're seeing heavier activity. this is wind shield wipers on moderate. it will pick up overnight into the morning hours. tomorrow mornings commute will be a mess. i'll show you the rainfall timeline, it shows the increasing rainfall about the time you drive to work. we'll have all the details, there's more rain on the five day. >>> the rain is a welcome sight for the north bay, people are facing the toughest water shortage. john fowler is in wind sour -- winder is. >> cut coming down lightly. this will the be more of a benefit for rivers an

john fowler and bill martin. >> storm number two moving into the evening hours. the system gets ready to come on shore. a storm alert for tonight through friday. rain returns and the morning commute will be the heaviest. strong winds with this one. the winds will be stronger. we will see less rain. look at the system. an idea of what we are dealing with. this is bigger than the state of california. check it out. 1200 miles across. and it is easy 500 miles this way. this system is going a impact greatly southern california. we will get rain and wind but they could see tornadoes, it will be a storm of the last 15 or 20 years in southern california. we turn on the radar, after last night's rainfall, 2 inches in some place. radars are dry. as we move into the late evening, the wind comes up, the rain comes up and friday morning commute will be a mess. i will have a time line in a couple minutes. >> now we head to the north bay, the wind and rain knocked over trees and they are worried this storm could do more damage. ktvu's john fowler is here now. john? looks like w

john fowler reports on how all of this may affect you. >> reporter: a big impact could be on food prices, but depending on where you live, times could soon get tough. water supplies for half a million people in the east bay, from oakley to martinez to walnut creek, today cut by half to 55 gallons per person per day, the lowest in decades. >> what that means to our customers is that we'll have enough water to meet the needs of indoor water use and also the needs of businesses. >> reporter: contra costa water district's jennifer allen says it's not enough for outdoor water, landscaping, car washing and the like, expected to decide in four weeks whether to impose rationing. other bay area districts are less vulnerable, but california farms are hit hard. this area, the westlands district, will get no state or federal water. they can pump from wells. some farmers today said they may plant nothing. >> probably hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland will be left unplanted this year as a result of the lack of water. >> reporter: today's federal water allocations for farms north of the delta,

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the south bay got more than a half inch of rain because of the type of problems we haven't seen in awhile. the creek trail in santa clara was closed as a safety precaution due to the threat of flooding and it reopened later this afternoon. a water district spokesman said there were no reports of flooding on any of the main waterways. in the sierra resort operators are hoping the storms can help salvage a dismal ski season. the highest elevations are expecting a couple feet of new snow throughout the weekend. major resorts have been largely relying on snow making machines to keep the slopes open during this very dry winter. go to ktvu.com for weather coverage including links to storm tracker 2 radar on our homepage. >>> the ongoing drout has homeowners looking at installing rain barrels. san francisco jefferson elementary has a 3000-gallon tank. the school collects rain and uses weather on its vegetable garden. san francisco public utility commission says due to an incentive program hundreds of homeowners have installed backyard rain bar els in th

ktvu's john fowler broke the story this afternoon on twitter. john is live. john, the rules have to do with where the cows eat? not what they eat? >> reporter: where and what. right now the tough business of dairy farming has gotten tougher because of the drought. >> reporter: this is the family farm. greening a little today but in four generations never a drought so bad. >> we lost 2-1/2, 3 months of free feed. >> reporter: cows produce 5500 gallons of milk a day. he and other farmers asked for a change in federal organic rules that require 100 days of grazing, there is simply not enough gras. >> if the drought conditions -- grass. >> if the drought continues it will be important to change. >> reporter: this afternoon a usda official said the rules will change today. allowing farmers to substitute organic hay instead. >> i don't know if it changed the quality too much. just for a short time. >> reporter: at the market, organic milk is a huge seller. relaxed regulations disappointed shoppers. >> producers will need to make changes and they will have to follow

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> we created a section of our website for california drought. you can see which areas have water restrictions and reservoir levels. >>> marshawn lynch is set to enter a guilty plea for reckless driving in oakland. officers say he was weaving in and out of his lane on 880. his attorney says he didn't want a public trial on the heals of the super bowl victory so he agreed to a plea deal with the district attorney. it includes a wet reckless plea and a $1,000 fine. a wet reckless plea is one step down from driving under the influence play. the term wet reckless indicates for the record there was reckless driving and alcohol or drugs were involved. >>> a golf coach accused of molesting students appeared in court today. cameras were not allowed in the courtroom but the family attended the family. she charged with 75 counts -- he is charged with 75 counts. he pleaded not guilty to all charnels. he ran the junior golf academy in livermore before he was arrested. he is being held without bail and is set to return to court next month. >>> failed safety e

ktvu's john fowler is in contra costa county and tells us the problem is all the wet weather have some folks thinking the drought is over. john? >> reporter: this is the contra costa county water district. half a million customers are using water from the delta. they are not under mandatory conservation orders yet. >> how long? >> reporter: lawns were plenty wet. and we discovered a developing drought disconnect. >> i feel less concerned than i was before. i think we had a significant amount of rain. >> she had put in more drought tolerant plants, installed efficient sprinklers and stopped watering when the weather turned wet. >> i am less likely to think there is a concern for drought right now. >> the contra costa county water district said not so fast. >> we are still in a drought. there is a big hole to fill. >> reporter: after it rained last weekend people cut water use 16% off the high but the district said it is facing a few problem today. to the reservoir, these pictures from news chopper 2 today, the water from the delta is too salty. >> we have to release more water in order

. >> and we begin with ktvu's john fowler. john, experts think the drought is even more dire than first thought. >> reporter: well, about half of the nation's fruits and vegetables come from california, so the big impact, of course, is going to be on food prices, but depending on where you live, times could soon get tough. water supplies for half a million people in the east bay, from oakley to martinez to walnut creek, today cut by half, to 55 gallons per person per day, the lowest in decades. >> what that means to our customers is that we'll have enough water to meet the needs of indoor water use and also the needs of businesses. >> reporter: contra costa water district's jennifer allen says it's not enough for outdoor water, landscaping, car washing and the like, expected to decide in four weeks whether to impose rationing. other bay area districts are vees vulnerable, but california farms are hit hard. this area of the westlands district will get no state or federal water. they can pump from wells. some farmers today said t

john fowler is live in sonoma county. >> as you can see, it continues to rain here.cken for drought for a lightning time. we're watching creeks. this is lynch creek which is at risk. rising rapidly. managers are urging everyone to be careful tonight through the weekend. >> there will be probably standing water in more places than we experienced in the most recent storm. there will be debris that comes up in vol verdicts -- culverts and the creeks and could block flows. so far the ground has been dry so long the creeks are flashy, going from low to high running water, flow in the russian river expected to increase 100 times. it's been so dry it will likely stay below flood stage. people encouraged to avoid driving through standing water and listen for emergency broadcast. this storm could turn dangerous for anyone too close to rising water. >> raining all over the bay area, and the great news there's more on the way. >> we have mark, the meteorologist on the weekend. he's in the hedlands, we expect to see the heaviest rainfall, five, six, 7 inches. >> the rainfall rat

john fowler tonight on today's decision and your bottom line. >> a big impact could be on food prices but depending on where you live, times could soon get tough. water supplies for half a million people in the bay, today cut by half. to 55-gallons her person per day, the lowest in decades. >> what that means to our customers is we will have enough water to meet the needs of indoor water use and businesses. >> jennifer allen said it's not enough for outdoor water. expect the district to decide in 4 weeks whether to impose rationing. other districts are less vulnerable but california farms are hit hard. this area the west lands district will get no state or federal water. some said they may plant nothing. >> hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland that will be unplanted this year as a result of the lack of water. >> farms north of the delta, 0. municipal users north 50% and south 50% but that's not the big surprise. >> even some water users with very senior water rights are going to get cut back to 40%. >> said the signal from the feds today is that our state, especially agriculture

ktvu's john fowler is at the trans bay terminal this evening with the find and what happens next. john. >> where i'm standing on fremont street near mission used to be a marsh along what became known as the san francisco bay, but today it is the construction site for the trans bay transit center. directly under fremont street between mission and howard, trans bay terminal contractors were digging today in the thick clay 60 feet below street level. >> today at about 8:00 a.m., we made a discovery, which we believe are human remains. >> we saw an adult skull in what appears to be a thigh bone. out of respect, we're not showing any pictures. an archaeologist told me the body does not appear to be intentionally buried. workers taped off the area and call it had san francisco coroner. we learned the area had been a glass land thousands of years ago then a marsh as sea levels rose. native americans lived along the shore line until ewe europeans settled here. the body is native american. i spoke with consulting archaeologist james allen by phone. >> they in turn will appoint a native amer

john fowler tells it's just a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed. >> sign to say bay area soilweek was the driest it's been in at least 120 years. today homeowners are doing something they haven't done in months. >> i turn off the water for a few days, because i think there was enough rain. >> jim scott says he's worried about new drought tolerant plants that have an established. >> it seems to be too little you know we need to feed instead of 2 inches. >> the district today told me an average 2 inches fell in its northern california watershed. still reservoir levels are down 4 inches from before the storm. >> it takes several inches of rain to saturate the ground and then at that point you're going to have a good amount of runoff. >> that a rundle says to get back to normal we need 30-35 inches more rain. think of last week and every weekend until the end of april. even though east bay mud reservoir is averaged 84% of normal, the district says it can't gamble. >> with begun planning for water shortage emergency and our board of director will consider voluntary cutbacks at the

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> today was the first official day of operation for a large scaleer plant in the mohave desert. it consists of almost 350,000 giant mirrors that stretch across fire square miles. it was conceived in the early days of the obama administration and since then interest has evaporated. the plant is owned by nrg energy, google, and bright source energy it can produce power for 140,000 homes. >> doing her part to fight the drought, what lady gaga is doing that's getting herself applause from governor brown. >>> tracking rain toward the bay area. when the system will arrive and how light >>> dozens of protestors greeted california university's president janet that politan no, student groups that support the right -- governor nopalatano's tenure as the department of homeland security. he was finishing up what he called a listening tool. administers and officials say a building was closed found mercury, led, and asbestus. anyone using the building probably didn't inhale any toxic materials. the university is planning inspect other buildings on campus. >>> the

john fowler is live in the north bay which is expected to be hit hard. we're in pet looma -- petaluma, this is lynch creek, notorious for flooding. in the last hour or so we've seen the water levels rise. there's a warning system up by the bridge. there's hundreds of homes on both sides. this is one of the many tributaries, small streams and urban streams that neighbors as well as emergency officials are keeping a close eye on tonight. sonoma and mendicino counties are facing the irony of flooding. >> add midafter we caught the first significant runoff and erosion. small streams expected to overflow according to county emergency manager. >> there will be a lot of debris that comes up in culverts and the creeks and could potentially block flows. the drought contributed to the buildup. this afternoon waters gushed into the region's biggest rivers. >> by monday they expect the river to carry 100 times more water. that's closer to normal flow. prediction models show no problem for people along the riverfront. but residents advice to be weary. hope it tries o

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and our coverage of the california drought continues on ktvu.com. scroll down to our hot topic section and you will find all sorts of information including the current levels of the state's major reservoirs. >>> pretty warm day today. we got a record high temperatures in the area. i'll show you those in a little bit. right now we have temperatures in the 40s. it's going to get in the upper 40s maybe a little fog inland. a warning tonight a lot like we had this morning. 30 in santa rosa. 45 in hayward. so as we move forward we're looking at this computer model and showing something we haven't seen in a while along the coast. this is the model. this fog sort of shows back up. this is 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. we don't see it on the satellite yet. but this model sticks it back in here. it wants to see it tomorrow again. more fog on sunday. we're going to be looking at the models which show rain in the five day forecast. significant rain. so all those details back here at 10:45. >>> senator dianne feinstein helped st. anthony's dining room in san fra

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> today was the first official day of operation for a large scaleolar power plant in the mohave desert. it consists of almost 350,000 giant mirrors that stretch across fire square miles. it was conceived in the early days of the obama administration and since then interest has evaporated. the plant is owned by nrg energy, google, and bright source energy it can produce power for 140,000 homes. >> doing her part to fight the drought, what lady gaga is doing that's getting herself applause from governor brown. >>> tracking rain toward the bay area. when the system will arrive and how light spread the showers will be also. >> you hurt a family, they hurt a dog. >> the search for the person who shot this dog with a pellet gun. >>> dozens of protestors greeted california university's president janet that politan no, student groups that support the right -- governor nopalatano's tenure as the department of homeland security. he was finishing up what he called a listening tool. administers and officials say a building was closed found mercury, led, and asb

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and our coverage of the california drought continues on ktvu.com. scroll down to our hot topic section and you will find all sorts of information including the current levels of the state's major reservoirs. >>> pretty warm day today. we got a record high temperatures in the area. i'll show you those in a little bit. right now we have temperatures in the 40s. it's going to get in the upper 40s maybe a little fog inland. a warning tonight a lot like we had this morning. 30 in santa rosa. 45 in hayward. so as we move forward we're looking at this computer model and showing something we haven't seen in a while along the coast. this is the model. this fog sort of shows back up. this is 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. we don't see it on the satellite yet. but this model sticks it back in here. it wants to see it tomorrow again. more fog on sunday. we're going to be looking at the models which show rain in the five day forecast. significant rain. so all those details back here at 10:45. >>> senator dianne feinstein helped st. anthony's dining room in san fra

at 6 ktvu's john fowler shows us why they have so much water.plete coverage. >>> after a surge in gang violence last year the san jose police have been working on ways to stop the violence. ktvu's robert handa takes a look at how it is making a difference. >> name me one element of the definition of a gang? >> reporter: the classroom in san jose is gratifying to the instructor, aimed at steering elementary school kids away from gangs. interaction is a far cry from when ktvu channel 2 news showed the first day of the program six weeks ago. >> we are trying to get into them to be leaders, mentors, role models, good older teammates to the other kids. >> reporter: today was the last day of team kids and another mark of progress was how they took part in drills. including one to help a friend. >> they are getting the skills to help each other. >> reporter: one student acknowledged gang influence won't disappear from one program but some lessons stick. >> once you get in you can't get out. it is like a membership for life. >> did you think about that?

reporting live, that is coming up at 6:00 p.m., reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> more details now. why the storm brought heavy rains reservoirs are still lacking. reservoirs are still at 60%. in the south bay, 31%. >> our chief meteorologist is here now with the rain totals. there was a wide range here. >> there was. let's look at the numbers. 15, 20 inches of rain. look what happened here in the -- in the distribution. k-field, a foot of rain. hayward, 7/10 of rain. huge disparity in three day rain totals. we have seen major rain totals along the coast. where the reservoirs are not that much rain was falling. that was the issue. shows 8/10. -- san jose, 8/10. last july 10%, 12% average. 40% of average in santa rosa. 40% in san francisco. this timef year, 40% is -- time of year, 40% of average is tough to make up. it is tuff. when i come back we will look at the next opportunity for showers into the five-day forecast and how warm it will get. it will heat up. >> the storm led to downed trees. look at what happened. a old okay tree slammed into building. ktvu's --

john fowler showed us the river levels, then. it was flowing about 40 cubic feet per second, a mere trickle, but by today, 9,000 cubic feet per second. >> the most important picture we have seen yet. >> i don't think this is enough rain, yet. >> and she is right. >> this is what we hope is the beginning of a phenomenal february. unfortunately, the drought is still on. >> reporter: brad says we are still way behind. need several more storms and at least six inches to even reach the brought levels from 1977. but, for now, this storm brings some relief. >> happy fish, happy ranchers, happy water guys, bring it on. >> >> reporter: now, as the storm continues to bring rain, the russian river is expected to crest tomorrow. still a long way from flood stage, which is 23 feet. we are at about eight feet currently. the reason we are seeing flooding across the north bay, i'm told that the ground is the dryest it has been in 120 years. so, simply the rain cannot saturate into the ground quick enough. we are seeing a lot of runoff across roa