live at golden gate park, katie nielsen, kpix 5. >>> a bay area lawmaker wants to make it easier for dispensaries to operate like other businesses. right now, banks can't work with them since marijuana is still illegal under federal law. state senator scott weiner is cosponsoring a bill to create new banks to be privately financed, regulated by the state and set up to handle money from the cannabis industry. >> they want to pay their taxes. they want to operate like a professional business. and they are very frustrated because they don't want to have to, you know, carry around suitcases of cash. >> dispensaries say without access to banks, they must hire armed guards to transport all that cash. this year, california expects to collect about $600 million in cannabis taxes. >>> we are getting new details about the memos james comey wrote to document his meetings with president trump. they were penned by the ousted fbi director detail a series of conversations during the first four months or so of the trump administration. comey said the president asked for his loyalty and wanted him to

kpix 5's katie nielsen... * the bank should b >>> as part of today's day of nationwide action against guns, teachers in san francisco are calling out wells fargo. kpix 5's katie nielsen on how they say the bank should be part of the solution. >> reporter: the group of teachers are here at the wells fargo in downtown san francisco because they say the bank heavily invests in companies that manufacture guns. more than a dozen representatives from the united educators of san francisco rallied in front of wells fargo asking the bank to hold gun manufacturers accountable for safety risks. the teachers are also asking wells fargo to sign a code of conduct limiting the bank's relationship with gun companies and the national rifle association. >> we don't want to do business with, um, an institution that's not taking its responsibility seriously in regard to reining in arms manufacturers. >> reporter: the teachers say their pensions are invested with wells fargo some of their money funds companies that make firearms. this comes one day after the american federation of teachers announced just

katie nielsen explains golden gate park is getting ready to take on throngs of people ready to light up. >> they are expecting record crowds at hippie hill which has been the site of some of the owe -- unofficial "420" celebrations for years. the city is expecting about 15,000 people to show up today meaning a lot of traffic, crowds and an estimated 10,000 pounds of trash. in the past the city and taxpayers paid for the extra security and park services. but for the second year in a row, the city is partnering with a private sponsor to help pay. >> love it or hate it, the festival is not going away. people from all over the world will continue to visit our fair city for this event and probably will for years to come. >> reporter: the sponsor is chipping in $200,000 to help pay for additional security. portable restrooms and extra trash cans and for a mile long chain-link fence to go around the entire area so smoking inside the chain-link fence area will be okay. but it is still illegal to smoke even recreational marijuana outside and in public. san francisco police say they are going

kpix 5's katie nielsen live at roseland village to explain what's going on this morning. katie. >> reporter: you can see some of those tents behind me. this is all part of a homeless encampment. behind the dollar general store on sebastopol road is this encampment. it's grown steadily over the past six months since the deadly wine country wildfires and is now home to more than 100 people. the site is set to be redeveloped into new apartment buildings and a public plaza. but it's been a legal battle between the residents here and the city of santa rosa as well as the county of sonoma. >> i feel comfortable. i have people around me. we are a family out here. at the same time, it's craziness and all the back and forth what's going to happen. you know, the harassment and just the general just snubbed by the whole area out here. >> reporter: lawyers representing the homeless say the city and county have not done enough to help the people find alternative housing. a judge extended a number of eviction extensions but today is the final day for those living here to clear out. a ra

kpix 5's katie nielsen live in union square where the privacy concerns over the video camera network. katie? >> reporter: the first cameras were installed in 2012 and since then they've been met with a mixed reaction. some people say they are an invasion of privacy while others say it is a necessary step to fighting crime in a city that continues to change. in san francisco's union square, cable cars carry excited tourists and sidewalks are packed with shoppers. but watching it all from above are hundreds of high-definition cameras. >> what makes a difference is really an individual network of cameras. so we are able to really help the police tell the whole story. >> reporter: more than 350 cameras in all. the video goes into servers where it is stored for 30 days and then erased. >> we're not actively monitoring the cameras. >> reporter: the string of cameras captured the runaway double decker tour bus that barreled down three city blocks out of control in november of 2015. it hurt 20 people. the cameras also helped police break the case in the rainbow crew. a ban of shoplifters accu

katie nielsen, kpix 5 news at 11 >>> it is snowing in the sierra right now. here is a view from caltrans camera. chain controls are in effect from twin bridges to myers on highway 50.>>> check out this time-lapse from our oakland airport camera toward a rainy san francisco. you can see large rain clouds moving over the city.>> we kind of knew there would be a payback in the springtime. welcome to it. it has poured so far this april. even with the front gone, the rain is not completely gone. that would be fremont getting a soaking rainfall right now. most of the bay area is now dry but it is pretty snowy in the sierra. the snow will continue tonight and last 10 more hours or so. 48 and breezy in livermore. it is getting cold in santa rosa. napa will drop to 39. vallejo, 45. pacifica down to 46. the weather pattern says it is february. this is a winter -like pattern with a big broad area of low pressure. the cold, unstable air has free access to continue to make it into the bay area. futurecast still shows a few leftover showers. sunshine in the afternoon. frid

in alameda, katie nielsen, kpix 5. >> the city council met behind closed doors for more than four hours. they decided to release the findings of the independent investigation into the claims and the recordings will be sent to the d.a. for possible criminal charges. the city manager remains on paid leave. >>> president trump may be getting some allies against illegal immigration from an unlikely place, california. at least a dozen local governments now have voted to support the administration's lawsuit against california sanctuary state law. right now they're all in southern california, but the sierra foothills, el dorado, and placer counties are considering it as well. tonight in los alamedas, to have -- los alamedas and are deeply divided. >>> the justice department is suing california over the state policy that limits police from cooperating with federal immigration agents. but even as some local governments defect, the state's top law enforcer says the sanctuary law is legal. >> when the legislator passes a bill and the governor signs it, it is my job to enforce it and i intend to do

in menlo park, katie nielsen, kpix 5. >> you may have noticed a change to your facebook page. rolling out new features to help users manage their privacy. there are two new links. one tells you if it may have fallen into the consulting firm. in many cases, these apps could help you read your online activity. now you could find out what information they're sharing. >> going forward, apps that will connect with facebook, they could no longer see things like your religious views, political preferences, your relationship status. it can't go really deep and even see the videos you like videos -- you like. >> not all facebook users will see the changes at once. the rollout will happen overtime. >>> san francisco police busted a million -- a multi-min dollar enterprise. the investigation stretches from san francisco to las vegas. >> reporter: san francisco police say the crime ring they just put out of business hit 60 homes over a three-month period. surveillance video shows one of the burglaries in progress. watch as an elderly homeowner opens up the garage just as a group of suspec

kpix5's katie nielsen is at the lake. what is this all about? >> reporter: we're here near 19th and if you take a look down here, you can see one of the scooters at the bottom of the lake and it's not the first time. >> just wanted to show you guys, got a scooter stuck in lake merritt over here by the terrace room, lake merritt hotel. >> reporter: this is the video ty decker sent to line bike yesterday showing the company where to fish out one of their brand-new lime s scooters. >> i was wondering how i could retrieve it for him. i ended up just walking by and left a direct message on their facebook. >> reporter: this isn't the first time it's happened. a quick search on social media reveals a number of lime s scooters dumped into lake merritt recently. when go bikes were introduced, they ended up in the lake, too. the birds found the underwater bikes were better for perching than pedals, but the big question is why? >> i think because they can. they're easy targets. >> i don't feel it. i don't see why people would want to destroy property like

kpix5's katie nielsen on why one group says there's more to the ban than just public health. >> reporter it seems pretty straightforward. limit the sales of tobacco and it will keep people from smoking, but one group says this ban specifically targets the minority community. , are no longer welcomed in our neighborhoods." --butt sot-- katie: so why just these are specif [ chanting ] >> reporter: dozens of people gathered on the steps of city hall this morning. >> bans always have unintended consequences. >> reporter: rallying to say let me smoke. >> we just legalized marijuana, so now you want to ban menthol cigarettes, come on. for real? that doesn't make sense. >> reporter: these smokers want san franciscans to vote no on proposition e banning the sale of menthol cigarettes, flavored vaping liquid and other flavored tobacco products inside city limits. >> african americans and people of color mostly smoke menthol cigarettes and vapor products. >> reporter: but city supervisor london breed said it doesn't have anything to do with race. >> tobacco kills, period, and that's what this is a

as katie nielsen reports, some homeowners worry they are living on dangerous ground. >> reporter: the navy had a public meeting to discuss the future clean-up efforts here at the old naval base. but people we talked with said they don't trust the information and they worry about the safety of this site. >> i'm a science teacher so i definitely know about, um, radiation. >> reporter: jonathan lee bought one of the newly developed condos two years ago. now he has an eight-month-old daughter and worries the ground under his house could be contaminated. >> apparently there's a scandal and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again, to make sure they take care of it. >> reporter: it was once a dumping ground for radioactive material. they spent more than $1 billion to clean up the area so they could build thousands of apartments, condos, retail and office space. >> this whole development is constantly trying to be presented as the city's solution to the housing process. that's a lie! it's fool's gold. >> reporter: the development is on hold because of a letter from the epa to the navy sa

&-p&-p&-p&-psom zuckerberg will answer to congress next week, but as kpix5's katie nielsen explains, some users who are frustrated with the social media giant are actually calling menlo park police for help and it's becoming a big distraction. explain it. )s police department l )s some kind of fa >> reporter: so, allen, about five years ago police say this is when it all started. that's when facebook officially moved their headquarters from palo alto to here in menlo park. since then dispatch earns say people from across the world -- dispatchers say people from across the world have been calling the city's dispatch center as if they're some kind of facebook police. >> police emergency, how can i help you? >> reporter: dispatchers at the menlo park police department are trained to handle any type of emergency, even a facebook emergency. >> thanks for holding. can i help you? >> can you tell me how to get in contact with facebook? >> we don't have a direct number for facebook. >> it's a safety concern. >> okay. what's the problem? >> someone is impersonating me on facebook? >> people j

it is happening in roseland village where we find kpix 5's katie nielsen to explain what's going on.porter: so, anne, this homeless encampment behind the dollar general store has steadily been growing since the deadly wildfires six months ago. this site is set for redevelopment into new apartment buildings and a public plaza. it's been a legal battle between the residents and the homeless camp and the city of santa rosa as well as sonoma county. lawyers representing the homeless say the city and county haven't done enough to help resident find alternative housing. >> you have people who have been homeless for a long time. you have people who are just disenfranchised by the fires. so the need everyone has it, it's just come to them in different ways. >> reporter: the camps are now home to more than 100 people many of whom are disabled. a rally and protest is scheduled to start at 8:00 this morning just before officials are scheduled to clean out the camp. homeless advocates say the people here need more time to find a shelter. live in santa rosa, katie nielsen, kpix 5. >>> constructio

in santa rosa, katie nielsen, kpix 5 news. >>> the u.s. army corps of engineers is completing about 90% of the necessary debris removal. that amounts to more than 1.6 million tons. >>> we now know the name of a woman found dead after her car slid down an embankment. the alameda county coroner identified her as 50-year-old kim -- a search team of cadaver dogs discovered her body. that was after crews found an empty toyota prius on the same hillside. they also had a brush with disaster as they tried to recover the white car in the middle of a rainstorm. >> oh! watch out! >> a rope actually snapped as they were pulling the vehicle up the hill. it careened back down, just missing a group of workers below. a second attempt got the car on the road and investigators are not saying why it ran off in the first place. >>> a 55-year-old woman and her dog were pulled to safety after their car went off the road. it happened late yesterday. the car fell about 100 feet onto the beach below. firefighters brought the woman up with the help of a helicopter.

in santa rosa, katie nielsen, kpix 5. >>> the faa plans to order airlines to inspect hundreds of jetngines like the one that exploded on a southwest flight. as kris van cleave reports, the announcement comes nearly a year after the maker of the engines recommended this work. >> reporter: federal investigators are analyze analyzing how this boeing 737 had an accident accident. how concerned are you about the safety of them in general? >> we are very concerned about this particular event. why did this happen? as far as trying to extrapolate that out to the entire fleet of 737s, i think that that's unwarranted at this time. >> reporter: passenger jennifer riordan was sitting next to the window when it was hit by shrapnel from the engine. she was wearing her seatbelt according to the ntsb. she was nearly sucked out of the plane. she was killed by blunt-force trauma to her head, neck and torso. texas firefighter andrew needham was among the passengers who pulled riordan back inside the plane. >> i felt the calling to get up and do something. stand up and act. my heart goes out to jennifer

loyola chicago basketball fans, katie nielsen says the bay area native who became the face of the tournamenttill feels blessed. >> reporter: on this holiest of weekends, there was no marks miracle, not for loyola her sister jean. she is the 98-year-old men's basketball chaplain and grew up right here in san francisco. >> for us to get to the final four, no one thought we could do this. >> reporter: she is one of the biggest liberties of the ncaa tournament. a 98-year-old none, sister jean.>> don't let it go to your head. [ laughter ] i haven't done that , nor has the team. >> reporter: she is the team's most valuable prayer and with some divine intervention she has helped the unlikely ramblers make it to the final four. >> she has a connect to the big guy. that is why. >> reporter: as a young girl, she grew up in san francisco and eureka valley, now known as the castro. >> we were very close. >> reporter: mary went to elementary school with sister jean in the 1920s and has not seen her since. that was until she popped up on tv. >> oh, my goodness, there she is and she looks wonderful. >> we

in santa rosa, katie nielsen, kpix5. >>> the older brother of stephon clark, the man who was shot and killed by police in sacramento, has himself been arrested. stevante clark is charged with making threats, not clear exactly who those threats were aimed at. he was taken into custody this afternoon. stevante has helped lead protests since police shot and killed his brother last month. stevante clark is due in court tomorrow. >>> we learned today southwest resisted a recommendation last year to step up inspections of its engine fan blades arguing it needed more time. on tuesday a woman was killed when a faulty blade blew an engine on her dallas bound flight. cbs reporter kris van cleave on one of the heros who jumped into action to try to save her. >> reporter: federal investigators are analyzing how one of the 24 metal fan blades snapped mid-flight on this boeing 737 engine. how concerned are you about the safety of 737s in general? >> well, we're very concerned about this particular event. why did this happen? as far as trying to extrapolate that out to the entire fleet of 737s, i th

our katie nielsen spoke with a professional snake wrangler about the close encounter. >> there was asnake coming down and watch out for our dogs. >> reporter: this was the first time she had heard of rattle snakes. >> i'm worried about my dog because she's never seen them and i thought, hey, i'm going to walk up this trail. yeah, it was a little worry some. >> reporter: the east bay regional park service put up signs at the trail head warning people about the rattlers. >> they slither across the trail but sometimes you hear them just on the side. i always worry about the little kids on their bikes because they're riding along, they're not going to stop in time. >> this is a full grown adult northern pacific rattle snake. and that's the only species of rattle snake we have in the bay area. >> reporter: dave allen owns got snakes and catches rattle snakes for a living and releases them back in open space. >> they're one of the most common snakes we have in the bay area. >> reporter: he says rattle snakes will generally try to stay away from people but the tell tale rattle means the sma

katie nielsen spoke with a professional snake wrangler about the close encounters and how to avoid themission peak has been bitten by a snake today, but they have heard rattlesnake just off the side of trails. because the snakes hibernate all winter like a bear. on warm, spring days like this, they come out, looking for a meal. >> there was a snake coming on down and to watch out for our dogs. >> reporter: amanda says this was the first time she had heard about rattlesnakes at mission peak. >> so worried about my dog because she has never seen them and i thought, i'm going to walk up this trail, should be fine. >> reporter: the east bay regional park service put up signs at the trailhead warning people about the rattlers. >> they slither across the trail, but sometimes you hear them. just on the side. i was worried about the kids on their bikes. they are not going to stop in time. >> this is a full-grown adult northern pacific rattlesnake. that's the only species of rattlesnake we have in the bay area. >> reporter: dave allen owns got snakes. and catches them for a living. then releases

katie nielsen, kpix 5. >>> a woman was hit by a police vehicle during a protest of stephon clark's death. and there you see the moments when the polices fud -- suv kept driving. should the woman was taken to the hospital and she has since been released. in a statement, the collision occurred at slow speeds after protesters were yelling while pounding and kicking the vehicles. the incident is under investigation by the california highway patrol and the department is doing an internal review. there is no word whether they are disciplinary measures being taken. >>> demonstrations have been particularly intense after an autopsy reported that he was struck eight times. the incident was recorded on police body cameras. >> protesters want the officers held accountable. but the decision to charge any officer depends on several key factors. melissa kane breaks down the issue for us. >> reporter: for nearly 2 weeks, people have been protesting the death of stephon clark. but will the two police officers who shot him be criminally charged?>> when they've been brought to justice we know we will succ

. >> kpix 5's katie nielsen is here to explain the controversy. >> tesla announced it is leading the investigation into the crash on highway 1 investigation into the crash on highway 101. it centers around the march 23 crash that killed a 38-year-old walter wang. tesla announced early on that he was using the autopilot feature when the car crashed into a freeway divider on highway 101 in mountain view. the ntsb said that they signed an agreement to help the agency with the investigation, but violated it with a car manufacturer started releasing crash related investigative information. tesla fought back saying that it has been clear in the conversations with the ntsb but they're more concerns with press headlines and actually promoting safely. we chose to withdraw from the agreement and have set to educate about misleading claims. there is a secret release on tuesday were tesla said that the driver may be in default -- at fault in the crash. >> they say the company will make an official complaint to congress about the ntsb. in the meantime, will still cooperate with the investigation.

in fremont, katie nielsen, kpix 5 news. >> before today, the last bay area rattlesnake bite happened on march 31 when a woman was bitten at a park. >>> a water main break made a mess of one neighborhood this afternoon. an eight-inch pipe burst just after 2:00 p.m. near 48th and geary. crews have cut off the flow but they will be on the scene through the night making repairs. so far no word on a cause of the break but the department says it was a pretty old pipe. >>> one person is dead and a dozen more displaced after a three-alarm fire tour through a multiunit home in san francisco's sunset district. the building on eighth avenue sits in a mirror -- sits in a neighborhood of densely packed homes just west of the open space preserve. neighbors describe the devastation. >> reporter: the remnants of a home are too much for some neighbors to handle. >> i just got here. so i am pretty much -- i walked by all the time. just so devastated by it. >> reporter: fire crews are looking into what caused this house to light up the night sky. smoke billowing over the streets and flames during a pea