we now have larry gerston who joins us onset. going on tw the difficult to comprehend cap and trade system. >> you will love it. you and more. and it's about reducing carbon pollution. we know that much. we also know most people believe the source of everything from climate change to respiratory issues and a bunch of other things. a long time ago in 2006, the law since then has been staged in to minimize sticker shock. this year the manufacturers and others who remit pollutants are required for cap and trade permits if they exceed certain limits. those go to the state for various environmental programs. that seems distant and fuzz zi to most of us until now. >> bisk lay to understand this, businesses are big time polluters. so that's what is going on here. but you said the system is about to change. >> yes, sir. but not change so much as expand. well, beginning in january, the cap and trade system will tend to transportation fuels. oil companies will have to purchase permits like everybody else has been doing this year. and along

our political analyst larry gerston joins us from washington, d.c. next.wasn't much of a break at all. >> good morning ch i'm mike inouye. there's a lot to do. some find it confusing brazil's official language is portuguese and not spanish. known for its music, dance, you can have it all there today. from 9:00 to 11:00, free dance music. at 2:00, a community procession and soul cleansing. did i mention you can take bart or the train to berkeley? then you don't have to worry about driving home. millbray arts festival. it's the last blast of the summer. the streets are filled with talent, and they have a stage dedicated to it. plus, fans can sample suds with the buds at the tasting tent. millbray is your hub for bart and cal train options. and this last one is worth the drive on a day like this. head west until you can't anymore. find your way to drake's beach at point reyes national seashore where you will park and dig and sculpt. registration is at 9:00. judging is at noon. bonfires at disk. fires are allowed as long as you get a permit. dogs are not, unle

larry gerston will tell us whether it will succeed or fail. >> many places have banned plastic bags, but no state-wide legislation has occurred. it's the 14th attempt since 2007. but this time it just might pass thanks to an unusual alliance between grossers and environmentalists. t >> we all know plastic bags are bad for the environment, but what are the numbers? >> californians use 14 billion -- that's with a b -- every year. and only a small part are recycled. the rest end up in marine areas and dealing with these issues it costs the state more than $100 million annually. and that doesn't include the greenhouse gases that are produced from manufacturing plastic bags. the. >> we've had a lot of failures. the why do you think the bill will have have a chance this time? >> last time it lost by three votes, mainly because of industry concerns. as with past proposals, customers would either bring their own bags or pay 10 cents for paper bags. the plastic folks still oppose the proposal. but grossers believe a state-wide standard would be much more desirable than the current situation t

nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston is joining us now. politically speaking, larry, how do we get our hands around this absolute mess? >> let's start with the basics. elected officials, they're elected to enact laws and correct problems. sounds simple enough. but in the case two governors have responsibility for managing this very precious commodity. despite the emergency, what has congress done well on this? not as much as anything else. conflicting pressuring between environmental groups and agriculture groups and tea party concerns about spending more have also entered into the fray. that takes us back to square one. back to the state. and that's where there's real hope for action. now so far, lawmakers here have been stymied, too. >> so the concession not to use 20%. that didn't work. and there are three major problems hindering the development of a comprehensive water policy. that's what we need. we need a comprehensive water policy. first we have fractured management. of the 440 water agencies, only 276 or about 63% maintain water u

nbc bay area's larry gerston joins us. this happens routinely where all of a sudden they try to cram these bills at the last hour. >> deja vu all over again. it happens every two years which is the length of the legislative session. these bills, at one time, more than 5,000 in number began piling up as early as january 2013. and we're not even through the whole thing yet. believe you me, there's all kinds of things that can happen here. and what we have to realize is, the last time you can introduce one of these things is february 21. so legislators even now can add bills at the last second, you know why? to a process called gut and amend. which changes language in a bill already in the mix. so yes, they have a lot to do. >> walk us through the ones that are the highlights. >> here's some of the most controversial bills, jessica. medical marijuana, a bill that would establish statewide regulation. another one, ridesharing apps. legislators are going to consider a bill that would, how can we say it, beef up insurance regula

some say this is flat wrong, but larry gerston says diverting some of that money is possible. the governor will just need more money. we'll have more on this story. back to you. >>> let's get a check on the forecast. it as humid, a little muggy today. >> temperatures in the 80s and 90s felt apparently hotter. it's harder for your body to cool down when there's moisture in the is atmosphere. lafayette getting up to 90. and redwood city at 84. we take you outside to the sky camera network. a lot of us are already looking ahead towards the weekend. and i'll have more on that coming up. we've got 71 in the north bay. hazy conditions there, plenty of fog. very thick, in san francisco. and we want to point out right now is across the peninsula, not only the sunset coming at 8:10 which does tend to blind the drivers, but check it out how gusty it is right now across the hilltops. winds about 15 miles per hour as the fogsy wind continues to build in. you're going to need both hands on the steering wheel if you're in some suv. now let's get you into future cast. we've had plenty of clo

. >> reporter: larry gerston says he needs the attention to a point. >> so little is going on otherwise in so many campaigns. that said, you know, when you're going to the, to the opposition's headquarters, trying to bait him, basically, some will look at that as rather s sophomoric. >> reporter: polls say khanna is now trailing significantly. we reached out to the honda campaign. they say they will debate khanna on october 6. scott budman, nbc bay area news. >>> comfort and care for four legged friends. animal control workers offered vaccines and chips to pets living in the jungle. that's the homeless. >> for us, it's about helping them maintain that bond with their pet, you know. that's, in many cases one of their only companions or trusted companions in the world, given the situation that they're in. so we want to make sure that that bond remains. >> according to the animal care workers they had help funding the workshop due to facebook followers. >>> this is what, the last unofficial weekend of summer? is that what they call labor day? i believe so. jeff ranieri has our labor day fo