our ken pritchett has been following this story.t all started when a truck spilled some sand on the lower deck of the bridge. that happened back at 2:15. but the clean up effort and the getting traffic moving effort if you will is taking a lot longer than originally expected. ken pritchett has an update on what's happening there. >> reporter: we can tell those two lanes are back open again because traffic is moving. we just watched a semi truck enter the bay bridge after traveling here on first street. when we first talked about an hour ago, i marked that location of that truck and it was all the way down there at market street. took him about a half hour to go five or six blocks. you can see right now the traffic is still backed up all the way to market street. you would almost expect that at rush hour. but of course we've had this traffic back up since just after 2:00 when that sand truck spilled that sand on the bay bridge. you can see leaving san francisco, we should be able to see right now that the traffic is still backed up o

ken pritchett is live with more. ken? >> reporter: well, as you can see, the rally here at san francisco city hall is over. but many of those who were here today suspect they will be back as they fight for what is, in their opinion, the life of the labor union. >> people! >> power! >> reporter: the steps at city hall is politically a different climate for labor. >> we are part of ten those of thousands who are -- we are part of tens of thousands who are standing with those in wisconsin! >> reporter: this is one of many rallies across the nation, echoing two weeks of protests in wisconsin. >> i think it's under threat. i think we all have to realize that we need to a -- that we need a weekend off, that we need a vacation, that we need pension and that we need to keep them. >> reporter: wisconsin's's governor, scott walker, wants to strip the collective bargaining right to help balance the budget. >> it has a cost, with pension and healthcare. it has a cost with how our governments operate. we have to change that relationsh

ken pritchett is live at boreal where the snow has been piling up all day, ken. >> reporter: it has and you can see people here at boreal ski resort under the lights in the ski lift. they are enjoying this fresh snow today. they are night skiing and they can do that until 9:00 tonight. boreal is reporting more than 2 feet of snow in the past 24 hours up to 5 feet over 48 hours. we took our snow shovel to the parking lot here. that's about 6 inches of snow that has just fallen since this morning. over in this direction, you can see the taillights of cars traveling eastbound on interstate 80. they are just about to go over the summit. they are moving faster now than they were an hour ago. it was a slow drive up interstate 80 for us when we traveled up this afternoon. but it was slow but not because of the chain controls. >> we saw many caltrans plows working interstate 80 this afternoon, despite several inches of snowfalling, chains were not required, eastbound over the summit. that was throughout most of the afternoon. caltrans did its job and kept the interstate relatively clear. that d

ken pritchett is live now at the prison where the tour is now one of the part process that could bring back the death penalty. >> reporter: the judge was here at san quentin prison this morning because he wanted to see the new death chamber, to discover if the problems he found with the old chamber had been fixed. once again, outside san quentin this morning there were protests. this time about spending tax dollars on death row instead of social services, but this rally was not connected with a significant moment taking place inside prison walls. the inspection of the death chamber by the judge who put executions on hold. >> it started out with a one hour tour saying he was not going to make any substantial decisions today, and he didn't. >> reporter: cameras were not allowed only reporters. this video was taken when ktvu was given a tour back in september. >> he's got to determine whether this new chamber addressed the concerns he had about the old chamber. >> reporter: judge fogel found the old death chamber a gas chamber converted for lethal ejections was outdated and inadequate. wh

ken pritchett. ktv. >> a lot of important programs for people of all ages depend ons what happens in sacramento in the next few months. jim vargas is live where we find that police, fire services and programs for people of all ages are all connected. >> reporter: we are at the senior center here in daily center where 1900 people are served. what we are finding out is that many locals think the state should send more money with fewer strings attached. people come to the senior center to keep active and healthy. the city spends four and a half million dollars. the town has cut library hours, a new museum only open a few hours a egg and officer freezing wages and not filling jobs for the police and firefighter the support for senior centers drying up. >> many people playing cards, to play cards here and then this do sewing and all kind of stuff here. >> reporter: the city manager said last year toes for youth programs were raised with a undesirable effect. >> unfortunately with the increase that were n

ken pritchett exmaybes what's riding on car sales this president's day weekend. >> reporter: this the college park high school wrestling team just back from a winning tournament. >> champs. >> reporter: they are champs because of hard work and coaching. they have a sport because of the community. funding in the district was eliminated two years ago. a private foundation has kept the program alive. >> without community support, without parent donations, people stepping up, no athletics unfortunately. >> reporter: more support is on its way in the form of a president's day sale at concord car dealership. it's a fundraiser organized by the city of concord. >> gets people driven into the city of concord. >> reporter: a percent of every car sold will benefit foundations to keep music and athletic programs alive. the dealers have incentives for buyers. > >> the dealerships involved here in the city over a busy holiday weekend it should be several thousand dollars. >> reporter: the final tally will depend on sales, the rain may not helpt. takes more than a million dollars to keep the program

in san francisco, ken pritchett. >>> 20 minutes from now san franciscans will get to speak out aboutwhat they would like to see in a new police chief. the council is looking at candidates to find someone to replace chief gascon. tonight's meeting starts at 6:00 at the irish cultural center in san francisco. and then on february 24th at the lgbt community center. >>> in san jose police are trying to determine what led up to a stabbing that left a woman dead. police say the woman was found suffering from stab wounds on the 1100 block of t era lin avenue. police are releasing new details but they did say the victim was a 27-year-old woman. she was rushed to the hospital where unfortunately she later died. the death is the 11th homicide in san jose so far this year. >>> from now on you won't be telling the clerk your zip code when you go to the check out line. find out why. >>> we have pictures of a line to show you that formed in the bay area to buy the verizon iphone. tonight some thoughts on why the crowds really didn't show up. >>> it's an unlikely combination. how the irs is involve

ken pritchett live now at alameda. >> reporter: you are looking at the memorial state beach. it is a state beach. rethinking how state parks are run may be the difference between a healthy park system and parks staying open or closing say supporters. along the shores of crown state beech you will find sedillo walking every day. >> you need the parks, it's the only outlet some people have. >> reporter: a report shows there should be more people like them. >> people want to use parks more than they are using parks now. >> reporter: elizabeth goldstein says her organization talked to thousands of californians to find out what they want in parks. >> maybe they should make bathrooms a little closer. >> a playground would be nice, for the kids. >> reporter: changes to state parks to draw in more visitors, campgrounds is one idea. >> not everyone is willing to sleep on the ground. the department is already examining with tent cabins and things like that. >> reporter: state business needs to join with state parks, $22 million this year that will result in permenant closures announced

. >>> and our reporter ken pritchett live in nyack. en i can imagine getting there was not half the fun. >> reporter: no it's not. we're at boreal ski resort where they reported 34-inches of snow or 26-inches rather in the past 24 hours. let me show you what is coming down here. this is very light. it's very fluffy know. perfect for skiing and that's what they're doing right now at boreal ski resort under the lights. i imagine more people will be staying here for the next few hours to do night skiing here at boreal. people are not going home. this is great snow for skiing, beyond the parking lot, you can see eastbound interstate 80 and traffic there is moving very slow. it took us quite a while to make it to this point today. in fact, it took us about three hours, 2.5 hours rather to go from auburn all the way to immigrant gap where the nyack station is. that drive should have taken us 45 minutes it took us 2.5 hours. even though during our trip, during the day and for most of the today the chain rule was not in effect for eastbound 80

ken pritchett is in concord to tell us how this thing works. >> reporter: here's what they do have in common -- car dealerships and high school students have been hit hart by economic times with funding, those students have been hit or eliminated. right now the two are working together in concord. this is the college park high school wrestling team just back from a winning tournament performance. >> league champs. >> reporter: they are champs because the hard work and coach -- because of hard work and coaching. funding for high school sports for the mount diablo school district was eliminated. this plam has kept the program -- program has kept it arrive. >> without parents stepping up and the funding, no athletics. >> reporter: more is on way at a car dealership. >> they advertise heavily and it gets people driving in to purchase cars. >> reporter: a percentage of every car sold will go to benefits's keeping the mount diablo school district -- district alive. the dealers have an incentive. >> over a busy holiday weekend, it should be several thousand dollars. >> one will serve the oth

in patterson, ken pritchett, ktvu news. >>> now from ken lets go to robert handa who's been out in the canal where the body was found. robert you spoke to who first saw the body. >> reporter: we have not seen any indication for the search of rodriguez. but people are still reeling on what happened this morning in the canal. an water authority worker spotted the body while checking the meters. the canal winds through the central valley to mendota. >> they found him right here. i was just amazed because i always walk through here. >> what's your reaction? >> it's really sad for the family, you know. i never thought he was going to end up all the way over here. >> reporter: according to some water authority employees, the man who found the body is matt silva who we are told flagged down a body. both men left work distraught after the ordeal. >> it was very emotional for the employees of the water authority this morning. it's very difficult to find the body of a child and have to remove that child from the canal. >> reporter: a lot of people here were stunned to hear about a body being fou

ken pritchett has the story. >> reporter: the election of 2012 may seem far off, may seem far out ofmind, but that is not so here at st. mary's college. it may seem early but the hour fast approaches. >> the application is due march 31st and so we are kind of putting together all of our materials now. >> reporter: spokeswoman elizabeth smith says they want to repeat the success of the senatorial debate. instead of the auditorium used in the senetorial debate, the gymnasium will be turned into a stage. >> tons of people and lots of logistics to handle. >> reporter: this campus of 3,800 students will have competition from other bidders but how much competition is unclear. the idea appeals to students we talked to. >> it'll be a great experience to have obama come here and talk at our school. >> it'll be a really great opportunity for us students to see that especially being college aged and you know teenagers, young adults, i think it's really important for us to get first hand experience with that. >>> the commission on presidential debates will list finalistist in april and name the

ken pritchett stands by to show us what is happening right now. >> reporter: their hundreds outside of city hall and we just learned that giuliani's grandmother is also here. he was snatched from his grandmother's arms two weeks ago today. there was hopes among many that the story would have a good ending but the sheriff announced that a body was found and it was the body of a child. stanislaus sheriffs say the body found bound in the canal was no doubt juliani cardigan. >> based on the physical description and a clothing description, it matches the kidnapping victim. >> reporter: today's news was difficult to take. >> i did not think this would be the outcome. >> reporter: an ambulance could be seen this afternoon and giuliani's mother was taken to the hospital. a witness spotted rodriguez's car go into the canal, 45 minutes after the abduction. that car was found friday in a submerged tunnel in the canal. >> the card been found was a shock but we held on that they were not in the canal. >> reporter: to shake says that this is a homicide case -- the sheriff says that this is not a hom

ken pritchett reports from sacramento. >> reporter: for sale, that is inside you will not see in sacramento or in san francisco at the state building. they called off sales. >> is the ultimate in kicking the can down the road. >> reporter: instead the state will shift money to bring revenue. >> the alternative will save $6 billion. >> reporter: the budget was the topic when brown met with lawmakers this afternoon. he needs republicans to put tax extensions speak for voters and people are not the answer was a flat no. >> we are not to the point where we are seeing as putting something on the ballot yet. i think it would depend on what the bout looks like. >> reporter: republicans seem open to a special election and without tax extensions the state will be forced to/$25 billion fund the budget. >> i will make those cuts and it will be very difficult for the legislature to go along with that. >> reporter: he says the proposed june special election may be by a mail-in ballot to possibly increase participation. >>> shares of san jose's cisco systems are sliding tonight after they reported an 18%

ken pritchett is live where there may be little letup these next few days. >> reporter: gasia, as you can see we do have snow coming down right now. this is what we are standing right here -- right next to our truck. have not seen a car come through here in about a half hour and you can see the tracks are gone. it has been coming down in the past hour or so could we are at the nyack gas station. it is a popular spot for you can see the truck drivers here. interstate 80 is difficult to cnbc traffic coming by. it was a day, -- difficult to see the traffic coming up. and it was a day where it was difficult to see interstate 80. even here, as you can see, the roads are slick. this red car had too little traction and too much horsepower. caltrans limited truck passed over the summit and they are starting to crest at the peak. many drivers were surprised by the storm and they need to chain up today. >> reporter: did you expect this? >> not as bad as this believe that that it would clear up today to be hoped that it would not be this bad. it did not work out that way. >> reporter: many truck

ken pritchett, channel 2 news. >>> and we're tracking the front that delivered pockets of rain and hail and sun today. bill how was it today? >> well, the way it stood last night, the rain really came down, messy, wet, things are trying out. there is another system out there that will be here in time for the morning commute. we'll get to that. showers in the area, napa, north towards santa rosa, scattered showers, listen it is not a lot of rain, what we see are light showers in vallejo out towards fairfield and concord and clayton as well. these showers don't amount to much southeast of danville. i have to tell you tracking it tomorrow morning it will be a significant hamper to the morning commute. it willing will be wet, hail at times, gusty winds, a crazy weather day and it will be an issue for the morning commute. i'll be back with the latest computer models. >>> and we have been watching the coast where the windy weather has whipped up big waves and unusual high tides. john fowler has more from marin county. >> reporter: it is clearing here in skies, but brutally cold. and big waves

sacramento, ken pritchett. >>> in san francisco the california public utilities commission heard an ear full today about the alleged health dangers of pg & e's smart meters. >> pg & e don't microwave me. honk your horn if you agree. >>> demonstrators rallied on the steps of the state building in san francisco. they want the commission to investigate reports of health problems which they claim are caused by smart meters. >> the evidence is in the thousands of people throughout california who have been sickened by the smart meters. there's independent studies that show that the smart meters exceed fcc standards. >>> the cpuc heard more testimony about smart meters. pg & e says the smart meters emit similar waves as a small cell phone or baby monitor. >>> what the pilots of this private jet told the tower just before they were forced to land. >>> and it's happened again. toyota is recalling 2 million cars. find out what's going on this time. >>> a private jet safely made an emergency landing this morning at oakland international airport. two pilots on board the falcon 900 radioed that they

ken pritchett. >> a body pulled today from a patterson canal matches a man suspected in kidnapping a 4- year-old on january 18th. rodriguez was the ex-boyfriend of the mother. the second body was found today by a water authority employee. a witness saw the two drive into the canal less than an hour after the kidnapping. 9 body of the little boy was found february 1st. today the mother had a message for rodriguez's family. >> i wanted to let his mom know that i feel her pain because i know what it's like to loose a son. >> a positive identification of the body is still pending. an autopsy is scheduled for tuesday. >> the man wanted for questioning after a deadly police shooting in vallejo is now in jail. we first reported the search for reginald jackson last night. officers say they located him at a home in north vallejo. according to the jail he is facing an aassault charge, authorities say he was a passenger in the car whose driver led officers on a chase. police shot the driver after they say he points a gun at them. his identity hasn't been released. >> at annie gyp an johan key s

ken pritchett is live. >> reporter: this community vigil is over. what's more amazing is cardenas family was here. >> reporter: it was a song sung by hundreds of patterson residents as they remembered juliani cardenas. his mother tabitha was here hours before she found out. the family says juliani was ripped from the family's arms by jose esteban rodriguez. today a vigil was held for juliani's safe return. instead it was turned into a mourning. tabitha cardenas is pregnant with the child of jose rodriguez. this story became a part of many people's lives in patterson. people who prayed for a better outcome. >> i was hoping it was going to turn out different. >> reporter: the next time this community gathers for juliani may be for his memorial, no date has been set. >> and the sheriff department issued a warrant for jose rodriguez. the sheriff's department says that it's a formality for rodriguez is presumed dead and his body is in the canal. >> all of the evidence leads us to believe jose rodriguez is also in the canal. >> reporter: rodriguez is the

ken pritchett is live. >> reporter: this community vigil is over. what's more amazing is cardenas family was here. >> reporter: it was a song sung by hundreds of patterson residents as they remembered juliani cardenas. his mother tabitha was here hours before she found out. the family says juliani was ripped from the family's arms by jose esteban rodriguez. today a vigil was held for juliani's safe return. instead it was turned into a mourning. tabitha cardenas is pregnant with the child of jose rodriguez. this story became a part of many people's lives in patterson. people who prayed for a better outcome. >> i was hoping it was going to turn out different. >> reporter: the next time this community gathers for juliani may be for his memorial, no date has been set. >> and the sheriff department issued a warrant for jose rodriguez. the sheriff's department says that it's a formality for rodriguez is presumed dead and his body is in the canal. >> all of the evidence leads us to believe jose rodriguez is also in the canal. >> reporter: rodriguez is the

in walnut grove, ken pretty -- ken pritchett, ktvu news. >>> cool temperatures are running on the coolide but not freezing. realtime data coming from point rays. a wind direction like that. increased wind which we're seeing throughout the area will help keep temperatures above freezing in many inland area. it's going to be freezing tonight but not as cold as other nights. you will still find your freezing temperatures and you know where they will be. look for frost, maybe a little patchy fog. but up toward heelsburg look for 33, 32-degree readings. everybody else, most of us are going to be in the upper 30s, low 40s. we're dry tomorrow, another cool day then everything changeless. that very cold arctic low center heads south with it. and as it heads south we're going to get very cool air with it. that last system, that's in southern california now moving out. for us it's very cold arctic air mass. you heard me mention polar air before. that's about a polar air mass. it's coming off the continent. the continent is much colder than the ocean. the continent gets colder than freezing. a ve

in walnut grove, ken pretty -- ken pritchett, ktvu news. >>> cool temperatures are running on the cool side but not freezing. realtime data coming from point rays. a wind direction like that. increased wind which we're seeing throughout the area will help keep temperatures above freezing in many inland area. it's going to be freezing tonight but not as cold as other nights. you will still find your freezing temperatures and you know where they will be. look for frost, maybe a little patchy fog. but up toward heelsburg look for 33, 32-degree readings. everybody else, most of us are going to be in the upper 30s, low 40s. we're dry tomorrow, another cool day then everything changeless. that very cold arctic low center heads south with it. and as it heads south we're going to get very cool air with it. that last system, that's in southern california now moving out. for us it's very cold arctic air mass. you heard me mention polar air before. that's about a polar air mass. it's coming off the continent. the continent is much colder than the ocean. the continent gets colder than freezing. a

it happened at a bar in emeryville and ktvu's ken pritchett is live at that bar where officers from five different agencies were needed to break up that night, ken. >> reporter: frank we told you aman who's job it is to clean this bar in the morning. he said there was broken glass everywhere. nearly 200 people as you said in the bar most of them fighting that fight spills out on to the street where some in that large crowd turned on the outnumbered officers. >> kitty's, that's the name of the bar. it appears to be a rather tame place. but at 1:25 this morning it was anything but. >> it was a very, very large bar fight. >> reporter: emeryville police says an officer was driving by kitty's when a security guard waived him down where 180 people fists and bottles flying. >> when they went into the bar they found almost everyone in the bar seemed to be involved in the fight. >> reporter: the fight moved outside. five emeryville officers tried to stop the beating of a man on the ground. >> as they tried to rescue that individual, the crowd turned on the officers. >> an officer was punched in t

we are on storm watch tonight with live team coverage, ktvu's ken pritchett is in the sierra, where ater storm warning is in effect. >> reporter: well, that warning is in effect. but here in placer county at the gas station it is not snowing. but i can tell you i watched them sweep the sidewalks clear of snow about an hour and a half ago. and right now it looks like there is about three quarter's of an inch on the sidewalks. they were clean, in this direction, we see interstate 80 where traffic is moving right now. chains are in effect, talk to the chp today. they said for most of the day, it was -- the interstate was full of spinouts that slowed traffic on interstate 80. now this is interstate 80 today, a few hours ago just before the chain controls. but even here as you can see, the roads were slick. one car had too little traction and too much horsepower. those familiar with it say the traffic on interstate 80 was fairly light today. caltrans limited the trucks passing over the area. even some were struggling to crest over the peak. now most of the drivers we talked to were surpris

in sacramento, ken pritchett, channel 2 news. >>> we have an update on the shooting that happened outsiden east bay high school. a story we first brought you yesterday at 5:00. hayward police say a car was hit once in the bumper after multiple shots were fired in the area. police say that two people were in the car when it was hit, but neither was injured. investigators say the car was likely not the target. there's no word if any arrests yet in this case. >>> san francisco assemblyman is leading a new fight to reduce penalties for growing marijuana. amiano introduced a new bill to let district attorneys decide whether to charge growers with a felony or a misdemeanor. the proposed legislation would set a maximum sentence of one year for illegal cultivation. current law makes it a mandatory felony with a sentence up to three years in state prison. there are exceptions for patients and care givers. >>> some of the crews working to rescue earthquake victims trapped in new zealand trained right here in the bay area for this very type of disaster. ktvu is live tonight where crews trained on a

our ken pritchett wants to speak live at the capitol. >> reporter: we are joined now by senator huffepublican. he is the senate budget vice chair. your reaction to what you heard tonight in the state of the state. >> this was not a business as usual speech but it's built on a business as usual budget. he talked about getting the house in order, that's a good thing, he talked about not kicking the can down the road but we still have a budget on a 11 billion-dollar hole and he wants to the people to decide. they keep talking to us and we get tone deaf because we don't like their answer and we confuse that with them not speak. >> reporter: the plan relies on some republican support to put this measure on the ballot. will that happen? >> it's something we haven't really discussed. the real problem is we want to see reform. we saw just passing reference to that about pensions. it was almost an after thought. when the voters feel we are getting every dollar out of what they are sending up here they may be willing to do it and some of our members may be willing to go up women aren't talking