john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> our coverage continues on www.ktvu.com.earchers are hoping to have a biorepository running by the end of the year to treat and detect lyme disease. you will find more information on the website. >>> a new law is making its way through the capital that will ban lobbyists from hosting fun raisers at their homes or offices. they approved the bill today over gifts like alcohol, flowers and cigars. it comes after events, the concern is 50s were greater than -- 50s were greater than the limit. >>> gray, wet today during the bay area afternoon commute. let's go now to our chief meteorologist bill martin. this is not the extreme rain we were hoping for. >> there is a chance for a few more sprinkles but it has been a light event all day and it continues that way. radar, i have then spinning. three going. [ indiscernible ] >> what is happening is this, you see activity towards the bridge. little activity over towards vallejo. the problem is, thes these are not rain drops. this -- these are not rain drops. this is a drizzle by the bri

ktvu's john fowler with the new concern not even emergency crews know exactly what is coming in and out of the bay area. john. >> reporter: the question is do you know what's in that vehicle that is next to you on the highway. vehicles with hazardous materials are supposed to have placards. but no one is tracking that, as we've said, except marin county. they begin just yesterday. >> today, marin county consultants sat by highways 101 and 37 watching trucks whiz by. >> we have had another one today. >> marin county just received a $40,000 state grant to do a hazardous material commodity flow study. how much and where hazardous products go on rails, pipelines, and roadses. >> we're looking specifically at hazardous materials placards. they are the diamond shaped placards that you see on some of the trucks. mostly gasoline. >> it will allow emergency responders and law enforcement understand the hazardous materials that are coming and out of the county. >> we learned there is no requirement to do such a study, even though emergency officials told me it is critical. despite having all five

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a piece of marine county history is struggle to be a part of theure. the museum is closing its gate house on "b" street, a place it called home for 3/4 of a century. a sign announces temporary changes. the museum struggling financially. it run out of money and looking for donations to help regroup and consolidate artifacts and photos. >> magic going in there and seeing what people did. >> the museum's location in novato is still open. they hope to reopen the gate house soon. >>> last hour we heard president obama go one-on-one with our chief meteorologist bill martin talking about our drought and also the short term and long term solutions to deal with the drought conditions. bill joins us with more on the interview with the president. >> you know, the white house -- my interview came after the white house house released the report, which concluded climate change is real and happening right now. you can see -- for us in california, drier conditions, more wildfires and water shortages. why some dispute the report. what isn't in question are the curr

ktvu's john fowler tells us how efforts to kill weeds may be killing trees. >> reporter: that's right. this tree may look like a drought victim but like dozens of other trees here landscape crews using weed killers may have accidentally poisoned it. >> reporter: red woods in the park may see drought stricken. >> no. the application of herbicide, over application and the wrong conditions. >> reporter: he showed me tree after tree. not just red woods but other species as well. also used on golf courses. they get into tree roots. next to the golf course. he had to cut down two dying trees. >> at first i thought it was drought and now i am moving to the 50/50. >> he says drought may stress trees but all around the area trees seem healthy while those close to herbicide seem to be dying. >> whatever is going on there doesn't look like the drought. >> reporter: we found labels confusing. misleading. he wants them to rethink their use. >> i wouldn't put anything around the trees. as soon as we see injury, we stop. water, that is it. >> reporter: she is taking this seriously and promised to re

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> it was founded 64 years ago in 1950 to meet the needs of homeless veterans from world war world war ii and you can see a slide show just click on the slide show for memorial day ceremonies under hot topics. >>> police searching tonight for the man who opened fire on two people while driving down a busy street. the connection between the victim and the shooter that police are digging deeper into tonight. >> hiding $100 all over san francisco and tweeting out clues the location and this afternoon we talked to the man who is hiding all that cash about why he is doing it. >> another warm day across the bay area but now we are talking about wind, how much cooling in the tuesday forecast and when drizzle chances resurface in the 5 day. >>> president obama honored the nation's fallen soldiers today. four hours after returning home from a surprise visit to see the troops in afghanistan. >> present. >> the president placed a wreath at the tomb of the unknown in the arlington national cemetery. it was a solemn ceremony. a tribute to those who made the ultimat

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> stay with www.ktvu.com. you will find the latest information on the wildfires and video of the fire and we are always updating the weather conditions in the bay area. crew a-- >>> crews are repairing a sink hole. a viewer tweeted us this photo. shows an suv that got stuck. no word yet what caused the read it buckle. >>> b.a.r.t. service is back on track after delays for the day when a person stepped in front of a train. news chopper 2 washington, d.c. over head when police officers and firefighters responded. it was shut down for a time. it is believed it was a suicide. it created 30men delays and they last -- 30 minute delays and they lasted for several hours. >>> a big rig that set off a fire has been removed. the accident happened after midnight on market street in san francisco. we know the hood of the big rig popped open and the driver lost control. the truck slammed into a funeral home and set the big rig and building on fire. the truck was carrying fuel at the time. the two men in the rig were taken t

ktvu's john fowler is live now. experts showed up late today.did they tell you about the whale? >> reporter: first let me show you here. this is a rare experience. this is a humpback whale. and now experts tell us a few minutes ago they took skin samples. young female. it was spotted yesterday but today as you can see this drew huge crowds all day long. >> videotaping the whale. way out there. >> reporter: these shallows inside a reef, forming a warm ocean pool where -- [ indiscernible ] >> expecting a huge whale but it is small. >> what is it doing out there? >> reporter: they have never seen humpbacks till a couple days ago. >> there were whales, several of them jumping in and out of the water. >> reporter: possibly this young whale and its mother. >> i think it is sad she was separated. >> reporter: all day long people dime take photos and marvel that creature here at its back. >> amazing things to see. >> reporter: her students told her about it. >> i feel special i am here. but at the same time it is a young whale. it is sad. >> where is it

john fowler is live in novato with what could be a new clue. >> reporter: one person may have set this and the other fires, and we've learned may have been noticed by homeowners. >> somebody was walking in front of our house around the back, up to the hill. >> reporter: michelle drake said it was her dog that alerted her. investigators say they have interviewed witnesses and collected physical evidence. several early morning fires were in dry grass near homes. one door wreath set a blaze, and another car was set ablaze. >> we take this very seriously. we're staffing our engine companies today. >> reporter: investigators possibly detected an accelerant at one of the scenes and collected possible evidence in these bags. they declined to elaborate. police told us a string of 60 novato arson fires in january 2012 two years ago rehane unsolved. they say they are actively investigating now any links and potential suspects. >> the evidence that was collected at the past fires and the recent fires and compare that. >> reporter: long-time resident diane castro. >> arson is up to it again. >> it

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> facebook founder mark zuckerberg and his wife cristina chen areng a huge donation to help under privileged schools in the bay area. the couple has donated $120 million to help struggling schools in san francisco, redwood city and east palo alto. >> the one thing it does do is let you experiment. that's the key. once you see success as you see in other charter schools fantastic. then you can start modeling and scaling it in other communities. >> reporter: zuckerberg and chan wrote an open letter that was publicized. the letter closes with this statement quote education is something worth investing in and if we can help make things better it will make all of our lives better. >>> a popular brand of rat poison is changing the formula it uses to make some of its poison laced base. the company has come up with a new line of products endorsed for use in all 50 states. it is a move environmental activists had been fighting for for years. critics of d-con rodent control say their products have accidentally hurt children and pets. >>> the agency will soon

reporting live at ocean beach, john fowler. snoop happening now a salvage operation recovered a small plane that crashed into san pablo bay over the weekend. news chopper 2 is overhead where the barge carrying the plane is living the scene. live in richmond as it is underway, ken? >> you can see that barge which is leaving the scene, it's gone about a half mile from where the operation was taking place. whereat the san pablo yacht harbor about two miles where the plane was pulled from the bottom of the bay. give you a better look of the salvage operation. the plane was in 13 feet of water. it was pulled out of the water at 4:30 this afternoon. it came out resembling a ball of aluminum, it was severely mangled. it was coming apart as it was lowered on the barge. it was the san francisco police department marine unit that found the boat. divers from the sheriff department went in and found the wreckage and the body. the salvage company was pulling this aircraft out of the water was taking particular care in regards to the body no

ktvu's john fowler reports on how it could effect the bay area. >> reporter: the bay area could lose0 million federal dollar as year for highways. motorists may end up paying more. >> highways are bad anyways. take forever. look at it, backed up at 2:00 p.m.inate afternoon. >>> there -- 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. >> road repair and maintenance money part of the trust fund runs out in september. >> a lot of activities are funded by the programs. >> reporter: he says grid lock in congress is leading to new ideas. perhaps raising the per gallon gas tax or a new state vehicle mileage tax, pay by the mile. >> it would pride more fair avenue. >> pilot programs are already running in oregon and washington. >> i think that is not a very good idea. >> the government encouraged him to buy his hybrid. >> why should they penalize us. >> i don't make that much. money if they are taking more? >> reporter: california senator barbara boxer plans to introduce a highway trust fund bill thursday. the problem is, lawmakers can't agree how to pay for it. john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> new informa

ktvu's john fowler joins ush information -- us with information. >> reporter: it could be life or deathmatter of minutes and they are asking all pet owners to pay attention to this right now. >> reporter: dog owners here say they are aware of their dog's health but most did not know snail bait could be deadly. >> shocked anded as a pet owner -- shocked and concerned as a pet owner. >> reporter: he told us his pal ate snail bait. >> he was attracted to snail bait. there he was chomping on it. immediately took him to the vet. >> he ate this product. we found it today on hardware store shelves. it become as nerve toxin. he has seen many, many dogs die. >> they start switching and shaking. panting. running around and then they get to the point where they could go into seizures. >> reporter: they helped us gather data confirming five poisoning in five bay area counties. cases are far more widespread. snails are out now, lured by gardens. people are spreading potentially deadly snail bait. >> read the labels closer with the cautions. >> reporter: pal did survive the poisoning. sadly he died l

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> facebook founder mark zuckerberg and his wife cristina chen areng a huge donation to help under privileged schools in the bay area. the couple has donated $120 million to help struggling schools in san francisco, redwood city and east palo alto. >> the one thing it does do is let you experiment. that's the key. once you see success as you see in other charter schools fantastic. then you can start modeling and scaling it in other communities. >> reporter: zuckerberg and chan wrote an open letter that was publicized. the letter closes with this statement quote education is something worth investing in and if we can help make things better it will make all of our lives better. >>> a popular brand of rat poison is changing the formula it uses to make some of its poison laced base. the company has come up with a new line of products endorsed for use in all 50 states. it is a move environmental activists had been fighting for for years. critics of d-con rodent control say their products have accidentally hurt children and pets. >>> the agency will soon

ktvu's john fowler reports one business claims the bid process smells of a political fix. >> reporter: garbage rates could jump 50% or more under the plan. $30million a year would goat to the city. >> it is fine. they do a fine job. i don't think that extra money should go to the city. >> reporter: if the deal is approved rates would be the second highest behind piedmont. >> i feel i am paying enough and when i have extra they want to charge me -- to charge me and double my bill? >> reporter: one of the companies that apparently is losing the bid is furious. >> look at this carefully and not to go for it. >> reporter: he told me he plans to buy this 14 acres in west oakland and put up a $70 million recycling center employing 200 people. he said the city changed its proposal mid-process to favor current contractor waste management, he says his bid would recycle trash and not dump it and $6 million a year cheaper. >> we have to lower the rate. >> there are many unanswered questions. >> reporter: he says he is skeptical about the deal and the rate increase. >> we have to be very honest w

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> there is still concern here at home about wildfires. allen rock park is closed today because of fire danger. that park has 13 miles of trial trails and 7 -- trails and 740 acres. we tried to find out if they will be closed tomorrow but we have yet to receive a response. >>> our chief meteorologist bill martin now for a look at where we stand when it comes to fire danger. >> our fire danger connected to southern california's winds. part of the heat we had here. our heat is dying down but not before the two days of record heat. as we go into the next days with the wind, our fire danger as well as southern california's fire danger will slack. they will cool off, we will cool off. as you look at what is happening. the weather system is pushing in clouds and fog off the coast. fog, if you will, at ocean beach in san francisco. look at the drop in temperatures from yesterday to today. not significant in santa rosa but look at san francisco,nessive cooling there. temperatures -- massive cooling there. temperatures 10 to 15 degrees cooler than

ktvu's john fowler tells us why it's getting more dangerous. hn. >> reporter: well this is eastbound highway 80 in berkeley. slow going except for those occasionallal lane splitting motorcyclists. now this is the chp handbook on motorcycle safety. it doesn't even mention lane splitting and officially the dmv says if done safely it is not illegal. with more and more cars on the road it's no surprise motorists get upset about motorcyclists. >> frustrating because they think they own the road. >> reporter: it's called lane splitting and more and more californians are doing it. >> everybody is in their own world in the cars. >> reporter: chad bear says he's been motorcycle commuting daily and splits lanes. but says it's riskier now with distracks. >> it's unnerving. it's scary. >> i ride to and from work and i can't tell you how many times i'm watching people with their phones or doing something where they're not paying attention. >> reporter: the chp has a new program to educate drivers about motorcyclists that may be paying off. >> i use split lan

reporting live, john fowler. channel 2 now's. >> -- news. >>> it's a slow going strategy but it working. on average, officers confiscate a gun per day. that may not seem rick much -- like much. but richmonds homicide rate is declining. right now, police have 2000 weapons in a store am room -- storage room. the city says overall it destroys 500 to 800 guns every year. >>> a new warning about hackers targeting iphones and ipads. someone is remotely disabling the devices. most of the victims are in australia but some are in the u.s. it unclear how hackers are getting control of the phones but some think it connected to find my phone service. >>> the high temperature we had today. similar to yesterday, some places warmer, some cooler, overall a wash. temperature tomorrow will be like these, not a change, less wind tomorrow, no fog. we don't have fog right now it is clear. i don't think we'll see fog along the coast until friday afternoon or friday evening. in the inland bay valleys there's a red flag warning, it will

john fowler reported on the decision of president clinton to halt the import of guns in may of 1994.> reporter: the gun on top here is a newly popular legal version of the illegal machine gun below it. agents took the legal version from a convicted gang killer who is selling his guns to his friends for around $75. the chief guns have been coming for years. >> this is the newest that's come in from china. >> reporter: it's a cheap and so far legal copy of the famous oozie. or take this chinese sniper rifle with night scope. these are among the more than 1 million chinese rifles and pistols imported last year alone. a total greater than all the rifles made by u.s. manufacturers. the same organization that carried out the massacre the chinese army is profiting to the tune of $50 million a year from gun sales in america. 15 years ago, chinese leader ping convinced the people's congress to switch defense production to consumer goods. they had weapons factories but chinese citizens can't own guns so the chinese army made military weapons millions of them for american citizens. most of the

ktvu's john fowler brought us this report at the time of the panic that followed. >> reporter: just after 11:00 local time police warned people on the islands to flee for their lives. many needed no prompting. the earth shook violently here for more than two minutes. >> we had an earthquake. now people are, starting to get panicked and everyone is coming out from their tents. >> reporter: within 20 minutes, the tsunami warning center sent out alerts to thailand and five other nations within 600 miles of the coast urging evacuation. most of the deaths were from falling debris and collapsing building on coastal islands. there's being nothing like this in recorded history. a second great earthquake striking the same region within 99 days. >> i would certainly say they're fraternal twins. it's not a duplicate. it occurred further south. today there was no major tsunami. today's great quake and continuing aftershock are frightening indonesians who continue to struggle. >> we see this as a mentally scared population. >> reporter: seismologists are know debating whether today's quake was a quake

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> breaking news now out of san jose, that's where firefighters are at the scene of a crash that we understand has killed at least one person. news chopper 2 is overhead at the intersection of north first street and tasmin drive. there's a number of emergency vehicles on the scene with first responders. what appears to be a vehicle there is into a light pole. again, one person confirmed killed. it happened about one hour ago. we'll stay on the scene and try to find out more about what happened as well as any street closures. this happened at north first and tasmin drive in san jose. as soon as we get more information, we'll bring it to you. >>> bart says one of the bay area's top bike thieves is under arrest after a sting earlier this week. bart officials say tuesday's operation involved plainclothes officers and a bait bike at the pleasant hill bart station. two men were arrested and authorities say one of the men had been arrested several times before for the same crime. officers from bart police, san francisco police and the contra costa county she

out here liver and police look for whoever is responsible, we will get an update momentarily and john fowler will have an update on the ktvu news at 5:00 and 6:00. here in navato, brian flores, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, well navato is not the only place dealing with arson, last night a brush fire started near walnut creek, it was at least the 4th suspicious fire in the neighborhood over the past two weeks, investigators believe they after connected and they are worried the incidents will become more serious, so far the fires have been small but they are occurring more friendly. >>> two people are under arrest in connection with 2 small fires in san diego county, while those were doused in minutes fire crews are still fighting at least nine other fires throughout the county. so far there is no evidence the suspects in custody are responsible for the larger fires that have burned homes and forced thousands of people to vac evacuate, coming up in 10 minutes we will have an update on that firefight and the conditions facing crews today. >>> we are learning more about the city's latest h

ktvu's john fowler tells us about the college. >> reporter: instead of graduation, a cloud over campus. >> everyone is really depressed. i mean a lot of seniors are graduating in two weeks. >> parents today learning their student children's advancement test taken two weeks ago will not count. >> i don't understand why they can do this. >> that rule desk of five feet apart. the board last week found desks used by 400 students were about four inches too close. >> it is the school's responsibilities. we take ownership for that because we follow the college board guidelines. >> the school says this is the first test irregularities and will offer make up tests but parents are unhappy. >> she prepared and she was very confident but i don't know how about now. >> a skill school in oakland district spokeswoman told me that a make up test will be given. >>> teachers are being asked to sign a controversial contract. >> as we have been reporting the oakland inserted new language into the new contract requiring teachers to adhere to catholic church teaching in their private lives as well as their

ktvu's john fowler is no novato tonight with the clues investigators have as they work to try to find the person responsible. john? >> reporter: fire investigators say this fire started right here, at the base of this hillside. someone started it and it's just yards from these homes on bryer wood court. >> it's scary. it's really scary now. the arsonist is up to it again. >> reporter: diane castro lives within yards of three of the fires set in dry grass near homes. possibly the same arsonist set a front door wreath ablaze, then a car inside the garage on trinity court, injuring the homeowner, who declined to be identified. >> hopefully catch the person doing it, and it is -- it's a scary thought, very scary thought. >> last night, somebody could have been killed with the fires that are going on. we take this very seriously. we're upstaffing our engine companies today t. >> reporter: investigators possibly detected an accelerant at one of the scenes and collected possible evidence in these bags. they declined to elaborate. police told us a string of 60 novato arson fires in january 20

in pleasanton john fowler. >>> recent rereleased report from us days estimates that the drought could do $3.5 billion in damage to the state's economy. researchers estimate 400,000- acres simply will not be planted this year. farmers don't have water to erie gate crops. there is also fears that thousands of acres of mature citrus trees could be torn out bus of a lack of water. >>> happening today astronomers say we are a few hours away from what could be a spectacular sky show if the skies are clear. a meteor shower expected tonight could be bigger than any we have seen in the past few years, peak expected between 91 tonight and 1 this morning, shooting stars may be visible right after sunset which is in just about an hour now. coming from a comet that was discovered ten years ago. so we go to chief meteorologist bill martin. >>> yeah the weather should be good, not on the coast. you are going to have no problem seeing the meteor showers, it is going to be a neat night for showers, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. let's take a look at what we have outside. we have con

as ktvu.com's john fowler reports people found relief by heading to some unusually heavy beaches. >> more like summer than spring at ocean beach. the swell brought out surfers and the highest temperatures in six months lured the rest. >> it is scorching hot. it feels like i'm in another city not san francisco. >> how are you staying cool? >> i'm not actually. >> in pacifica the beach and boardwalk were jammed. coast side people told us they are just not used to this heat. we found half moon bay contractor quitting work at noon. >> i'm my own boss i'm able to do that. it's too hot. >> you touch a hammer your tool is even too hot. >> experts say they warn even a few minutes inside a car can kill a child. >> as recently as two weeks ago there was a death in the san francisco bay area. and what i found for my research is it doesn't have to be a really warm day like today is. >> we caught up with paramedics who told me with older people especially this he can be dangerous. >> people he can be dangerous. >> people should be drinking plenty of water, stay hydrated. a lot of residents don't

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> he's an east bay boy genius.how this young man managed to finish a college program at 14. >>> your memorial day weekend forecast. looks like a warm one. i will lay out the pattern. >>> and exactly one week ago today. a third grader was shot right here in her front yard while she was playing. tonight for the first time her mother speaks out and tells me about her daughter's devastating injury. >>> exactly one week ago tonight an 8-year-old girl was shot while playing in her front yard in east oakland. tonight her mother is talking publicly for the first time to our amber lee. amber is at children's hospital with how this one act of violence has really shattered that family's life forever. amber. >> reporter: frank, mom has been spending long hours here at the hospital. her daughter is in critical condition up on the third floor in the intensive care unit. this is a photo of jack olansunes taking this evening. mom speaks spanish. through a translator she toll us that a shot to her neck paralyzed her from the neck d

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> veterans were honored during a memorial day celebration on the uss hornet museum in alameda today. there was also a special guest at the ceremony. captain chin is a decorated civilian pilot who is credited with saving u.s. military personnel during world war ii. organizers of today's events say chen turned 101 years old today. >>> more backlash against sea world in san diego this time in the form of vandalism. you will see here someone scrolled graffiti on the exit sign for sea world. but it's unclear just who is responsible for defacing that sign. >>> most of the bay area in the clear right now. the wind still a factor. they really picked up late this afternoon into the evening hours. still gusty winds especially at the coast and around the bay. as far as stronger winds, you can see 55 miles per hour. mount diablo and sfo wind gusts to 45 miles per hour. 30-miles-an-hour in san francisco. there's the fog hugging the coast of southern california. some patchy fog will redevelop just off the coast and push. and with that, that's going to cool off t

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> he's an east bay boy genius.how this young man managed to finish a college program at 14. >>> your memorial day weekend forecast. looks like a warm one. i will lay out the pattern. >>> and exactly one week ago today. a third grader was shot >>> exactly one week ago tonight an 8-year-old girl was shot while playing in her front yard in east oakland. tonight her mother is talking publicly for the first time to our amber lee. amber is at children's hospital with how this one act of violence has really shattered that family's life forever. amber. >> reporter: frank, mom has been spending long hours here at the hospital. her daughter is in critical condition up on the third floor in the intensive care unit. this is a photo of jack olansunes taking this evening. mom speaks spanish. through a translator she toll us that a shot to her neck paralyzed her from the neck down. >> she paralyzed her throughout the body but her mind is still working. >> they're going to give her therapy so she can use her hands and have some mo

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> veterans were honored during a memorial day celebration on the uss hornet museum in alameda today. there was also a special guest at the ceremony. captain chin is a decorated civilian pilot who is credited with saving u.s. military personnel during world war ii. organizers of today's events say chen turned 101 years old today. >>> more backlash against sea world in san diego this time in the form of vandalism. you will see here someone scrolled graffiti on the exit sign for sea world. but it's unclear just who is responsible for defacing that sign. >>> most of the bay area in the clear right now. the wind still a factor. they really picked up late this afternoon into the evening hours. still gusty winds especially at the coast and around the bay. as far as stronger winds, you can see 55 miles per hour. mount diablo and sfo wind gusts to 45 miles per hour. 30-miles-an-hour in san francisco. there's the fog hugging the coast of southern california. some patchy fog will redevelop just off the coast and push. and with that, that's going to cool off t

ktvu's john fowler tonight tells us what's changed to make this happen. >> reporter: with more and more cars on the road, no surprise drivers get ticked off at motorcyclists. >> frustrating. because they think they own the road. and, especially when you're stuck in traffic. >> reporter: it's called lane splitting and this is how riders see it. the latest survey shows more and more california motorcyclists doing it. >> it's a meat grinder out there. you know everybody is in their own world in cars. >> chad beard says he's been motorcycle commuting for 17 years and splits lanes but says it's riskier now with distracted drivers. >> when i see break lights i accelerate. the cars are so packed together they can't do anything to you but it's unnerving, it's scary. >> i drive to and from work and i cannot tell you how many people i see people on their phones or doing something that they're not paying attention. >> reporter: motorcyclists are reporting hitting vehicles more often but the chp has a new program to educate drivers about motorcyclists. >> i lane split myself. people aren't as aggre

john fowler was with them and he is live at mount diablo with how people were coping on and off the mountain. >> reporter: i really needed this hat today. it was brutal out here. you can see bicyclists out here. most are spectators. the bicycle racers are still coming down the hill. we don't see any right now but they've been up and down here. this whole course was brutally hot and dry. cyclists passed mount diablo at about 8:30. this after 100 grueling miles in the heat. >> it's horrible today. today was a horrible day. i've gone through like 100 water bottles. >> reporter: this video from news chopper 2 you can see spectators jamming the roads. some say they're used to the weather. >> this is what happens every summer. we're prepared for this the heat and the sun and all that. >> reporter: still calfire crews were on duty. >> we're worried about people that are getting a lot of sun exposure. maybe not drinking enough water. maybe have a medical condition by later this afternoon. >> reporter: fire crews told me humidity in the teens is drying out brush and grass. in downtown walnut creek it

ktvu's john fowler tonight tells us what's changed to make this happen. >> reporter: with more and morears on the road, no surprise drivers get ticked off at motorcyclists. >> frustrating. because they think they own the road. and, especially when you're stuck in traffic. >> reporter: it's called lane splitting and this is how riders see it. the latest survey shows more and more california motorcyclists doing it. >> it's a meat grinder out there. you know everybody is in their own world in cars. >> chad beard says he's been motorcycle commuting for 17 years and splits lanes but says it's riskier now with distracted drivers. >> when i see break lights i accelerate. the cars are so packed together they can't do anything to you but it's unnerving, it's scary. >> i drive to and from work and i cannot tell you how many people i see people on their phones or doing something that they're not paying attention. >> reporter: motorcyclists are reporting hitting vehicles more often but the chp has a new program to educate drivers about motorcyclists. >> i lane split myself. people aren't as aggress

ktvu john fowler is live in concord with the change in plans that happened late this afternoon. john. >> well, parents reactions may have surprised officials leer at district headquarters. right now, they send home students who have head lice, but they want to change that to comply with state policy. it's the time of year for head lice. it's easily passed from child to child. many children get multiple infestations, but the school district wants to keep children with head lice in school. >> i think it's crazy. >> mother of three says though her kids haven't yet had head lice, she knows how quickly it spreads. >> the kids staying in school is really a terrible idea. >> the school district says head lice carry no disease. isolating children can stigmatize them. the district superintendent declined an interview. although the state says kids with lice can go to school. >> they are more pail, offwhite. >> urges common sense. >> your child with active lice, excusing them for a day so they can get treatment. >> he says lice are easily killed by over the counter products and eggs are not