in oakland, lena howland, abc 7 news. ama: lena will be back in half an hour to join abc 7 news anchor karina nova for a longer discussion on this topic. that is coming up at 5:30 on abc 7 bay area streaming tv. don't forget we have treated the interactive abc 7 neighborhood safety tracker so you can look up crimes where you live. there's data for oakland, san francisco, san jose, and we are looking to add more cities you will find it on abc7news.com. dan: across the bay, the man who helped open the country's first safe injection site in new york city visited san francisco to pass on his knowledge to local nonprofits as they prepared open similar things here. abc 7 news reporter tara campbell walks the street with him. >> san francisco not only needs one opc but a few opc's also known as over us prevention center, also safe consumption sites. places people can go in case of an overdose. sam rivera is the executive director of the nonprofit operating the first two such sites in the country in new york city. he's working wit

abc 7 news lena howland has the latest. >> step up, ste is a uniontown. lena: teachers spent their fourth day away from the classroom on strike. the oakland education association holding firm on their goals to include, good items in the new contractor >> we want a new contract. policies change. when you put it in a contract, then we can hold the district accountable to doing that. lena: assembly member in the, who supports the union, says they are achievable for the good of all students. >> with focusing on an opportunity to use housing, house our homeless kids, that we have that have a shared governance model. dion: some believe the union has taken it too far. >> i believe they've done in the wrong way. dion: fed up with multiple strikes in the last few years. >> you cannot hold kids hostage in order to make progress on these things. dion:dion: jesse has two kids in the district and crossed the picket line to bring his third-grader, but says common good goals have no place in a labor agreement. >> i know the unit is advocating for stuff so many of us beli

abc 7 news reporter lena howland has more. lena: residence in the fruitvale village said there have been shootings and people injured. >> the shootings have happened in this area without any kind of recourse. lena: taco prado says the city is aware of issues, for a violence summit last month. >> ever since that meeting, nothing happened. lena: that is why merchants have developed a list of demand for the city, including installing more cameras, parking, street changes, and adding more to the area. >> people do not care who is walking by, who is driving. you can't go to sleep comfortable. i cannot travel anywhere. i'm afraid of how itle: this mad windows broken and is stores seven times now, not to mention an atm ripped from the wall month ago. >> i'm really thinking hard about shutting the business down. i cannot put my self and my kids at risk every day because of these same problems. lena: the councilmember says he drafted a resolution to close these --east operators objected. >> we want equitable attention to the area. lena:

lena howland, abc7news. reporter: u.s. lawmaker to regulate the future of artificial intelligence. it is something a lot of people have been talking about. >> our enemies could make it look like anyone is saying anything. reporter: seeing is believing or not. technology is advancing very quickly. anyone can make videos and audio easily from their computer or phone. >> it will be a brave new world in the coming years. reporter: a bill written by ai, asking the house to look at the impact of artificial intelligence. >> this technology is new and changing. congress on the best path forward. >> too often, we've seen what happens when technology outpaces regulation. reporter: a senator allowed nai voice tool to clone him and give the opening statement. >> that voice was not mine. the words were not mine. the remarks were written by chatgpt. reporter: scammers are using fake audio to steal money by posing as family members in crisis. the head of the company is asking lawmakers to regulate the artificial intelligence industry. he says there needs to be oversight of ethical and safety risk

reporter: lena howland, abc7news. ama: perception against reality. for better or worse, the city of san francisco has earned a reputation as a crime plagued city that's out of control. we saw the reaction to the killing of bob lee. what do the numbers say? when the police to partner reports violent crimes, that includes homicide, rape, robbery, and assault. here's how 2022 compares to 2023 according to data released tonight. last june, there were 1829 violent crimes reported. this year, 1913. that's an increase of 5%. property crime, burglary, arson, or stealing a car, is down. last year, the department reported nearly 17,000 such crimes. this year, a little over 15,000. a decline of 8%. at tonight's meeting of the police commission, the chief addressed the numbers. >> one of the biggest categories of crime in our city is theft. we are down almost 8% in theft which is 1000 fewer than last year. ama: we've made all of this information available at your fingertips. our abc 7 neighborhood safety tracker. the interactive tool lets you look at crimes wher

abc seven news reporter lena howland is in the newsroom with a look at this plan. lena. dan with so many empty storefronts in this particular area of powell street, mayor breed wants to reimagine how we use those spaces and also make it easier to start a business in this quarter. and she says part of why they're making this investment is to change the narrative about the city of san francisco. just as the historic cable cars have to get on a turntable to turn around and change directions at the foot of powell street. city leaders want to take this area filled with empty spaces in a new direction. we need to reverse direction from where we are now and we need to get back on track to recover downtown and to be to be the great city that we know that we are. mayor london breed announcing the city and county of san francisco is making a new investment of $6 million into the powell street corridor stretching from geary to market that will be street improvements to change the conditions to make the streets, the sidewalks wider, the streets more inviting, easier to get on the ca

lena howland, abc7news. reporter: u.s. lawmaker to regulate the future of artificial intelligence.is something a lot of people have been talking about. >> our enemies could make it look like anyone is saying anything. reporter: seeing is believing or not. technology is advancing very quickly. anyone can make videos and audio easily from their computer or phone. >> it will be a brave new world in the coming years. reporter: a bill written by ai, asking the house to look at the impact of artificial intelligence. >> this technology is new and changing. congress on the best path forward. >> too often, we've seen what happens when technology outpaces regulation. reporter: a senator allowed nai voice tool to clone him and give the opening statement. >> that voice was not mine. the words were not mine. the remarks were written by chatgpt. reporter: scammers are using fake audio to steal money by posing as family members in crisis. the head of the company is asking lawmakers to regulate the artificial intelligence industry. he says there needs to be oversight of ethical and safety risks. >

reporter: lena howland, abc7news. ama: perception against reality.or better or worse, the city of san francisco has earned a reputation as a crime plagued city that's out of control. we saw the reaction to the killing of bob lee. what do the numbers say? when the police to partner reports violent crimes, that includes homicide, rape, robbery, and assault. here's how 2022 compares to 2023 according to data released tonight. last june, there were 1829 violent crimes reported. this year, 1913. that's an increase of 5%. property crime, burglary, arson, or stealing a car, is down. last year, the department reported nearly 17,000 such crimes. this year, a little over 15,000. a decline of 8%. at tonight's meeting of the police commission, the chief addressed the numbers. >> one of the biggest categories of crime in our city is theft. we are down almost 8% in theft which is 1000 fewer than last year. ama: we've made all of this information available at your fingertips. our abc 7 neighborhood safety tracker. the interactive tool lets you look at crimes where

lena howland explains what people can expect as we head into summer. lena: it was last september when california's power grid was stretched to the limit amid a 10 day heat, reaching a record high of more than 52,000 megawatts. people across the state were urged to conserve or else. >> thankfully, an emergency was narrowly avoided due to the ability to call upon strategic reserve and because of millions of californians who helped to reduce their demand. lena: rolling blackouts were last experienced during 2020 and nearly avoided, but this year's the energy commission says the state is much better prepared as we head into the summer. >> i am really happy today to let you all know that the summer outlook is looking much better than we anticipated. lena: with improved hydro conditions, increased capacity and 2800 megawatts of backup contingency resources for the next extreme event, they say no electricity shortfalls are expected in 2023. >> this is both because of the extraordinary efforts of the agencies to bring on line resources because of better-than-ex

lena howland has more. lena: today, those warehouse workers got another piece of bad news, after the roof collapsed and killed a worker. peet's will not be able to return to previous capacity and will relocate to tracy, more than 50 miles away. >> i feel like they don't care about us, that's all. lena: a spokesperson for peet's released a statement saying although one tenant -- 110 employees at the facility will be impacted, all employees will be given the opportunity to work at the new distribution center in tracy. samuel: just like everyone else, i'm confused. lena: samuel howard is one of more than 100 workers now given the option to either take a severance package or commit to doing a super commute. samuel: i personally do not want to do the move to tracy. i wanted to stay local. i'm still indecisive, because i have a family to provide for. lena: another employee, who wants to remain anonymous, said 95% of the workers at the oakland warehouse live in oakland. >> and a lot of people, they do not have cars

abc 7 news reporter lena howland has talked to some of the merchants and has more of what they want. lena: merchants at oakland's fruitvale village say over the pan of -- span of performance, there have been multiple shootings and people injured. >> it has happened in this area without any kind of recourse. lena: taco shop owner dominic prado says the city is aware of this area's issues after bringing officials, including mayor sheng thao and councilmember noel geico here. a violence summit last month. >> ever since that meeting, nothing happened. lena: that is why merchants have developed a list of demand for the city, including installing more cameras, parking, street changes, and adding more to the -- security to the area. >> people do not care. there are shootings. people do not care who is walking by, who is driving. you can't go to sleep comfortable. i cannot travel anywhere. i can do anything, because i'm afraid of how it might run in my business. lena: this man says he has had windows broken and is stores -- in his store seven times now, not to mention an atm ripped from the w

abc 7's lena howland has a look at this reminder about the importance of being safe on the water. lena: as folks packed up their campers for a long holiday weekend away, many in the bay area look no further than the hills of livermore. >> a lot of families out here today and luckily, they don't have a long line like it used to be. >> i just like swimming a lot. lena: on saturday, trag struck after the east bay regional park district officials say a man and his fiancÉe were on an inflatable raft outside of the guarded area when an or for the raft got separated. >> the man did ability to swim or have a life jacket on. lena: the man's body recovered five hours later. >> with the heavy snow pack, as it melts, the water is very cold. we want to remind people that if they are not sure about their skill set, state and chest deep water and swim in a designated area.do not go to a remote site. lena: locals told us how unpredictable can be right now. >> there is a you can see the water is moving, and the lake is huge. i forget how many miles long, but it is a long late, so there is lots of u

it has not been enough to make a deal abc 7 news reporter lena howland has the very latest. as oakland teachers gather for a seventh day on the picket lines the oakland education association says progress has been made there are many places where we've come to agreement. we still have a little bit of work to do but we are at this moment in time feeling hopeful carrie anderson a second grade teacher who serves on the executive board of the union says it's important to know that their common good goals are one of 20 proposals and she says it's not what's holding things up right now having enough teachers in classrooms keeping teachers and classrooms and schools year after year. that includes having counselors speech pathologists nurses. so a lot of it is around that financial piece around staffing. meanwhile, sam davis from the oakland unified school board is calling for an end to the strike and says there are other ways to negotiate outside of a labor agreement. i just wish that they would end the strike and allow the last points tul. without impacting kids. he thinks the 1 b

lena howland talks to fans who say they are eager to see their team even things out. lena: hopes were high going into game 3, as the warriors took on the lakers in the lakers in yellow and purple territory. >> we are ready. >> the warriors, if they wanted to, they could push it. lena: warriors fans and a few loan lakers fans packed thrive city to capacity outside of the chief center saturday night with more than 2600 people. about halfway through the third quarter, warriors fans were caught throwing in the towel and leaving early. >> we will come back stronger and better than ever in the next game and the game after that and the game after that to take it home. this is what we do. >> the lakers got payback for game two at home, blowing out the warriors on their own home floor by 30 points. >> warriors! >> a great game by the lakers. and i was worried about the first quarter, but my lakers come through. lena: leaving dubs fans a little disappointed. >> honestly, i think the warriors were just not in the mood today. it wasn't clicking. the chemistry wasn't there. i think

. >> lena howland joins us to explain why.orter: cautiously optimistic that the state may be up to avoid rolling blackouts altogether and one of the key reasons behind that is haven't we more hydroelectric power this year compared to last year. because of the heavy rainfall we experienced at the start of the year. it was last september when the power grid was stretched to its limit amid a 10 day he worry reaching a record high people across the state were urged to conserve or else. >> thankfully an outage was avoided due to being able to call upon a reserve and due to millions of californians. reporter: rolling blackouts last experienced during 2020 were narrowly avoided but this year officials say the state is much better prepared as we head into the summer. >> i am really happy today to let you all know that the summer outlook is looking much better than we anticipated. reporter: with improved hydro conditions, increased capacity and 2800 megawatts of backup resources for the next extreme event, they say no electricity short

lena howland, abc seven news. okay. thank you, lena. >> meanwhile, we are learning more about the death of cash app founder bob lee. >> the san francisco medical examiner's office releasing his autopsy report. it shows lee died from multiple stab wounds. >> one that pierced his heart. >> the report shows doctors at san francisco general hospital worked for hours to save lee before he died in the operating room, a security guard arrested for shooting and killing 24 year old banco brown at a walgreens is now out of jail. >> the san francisco district attorney's office will not be pursuing a murder charge right now as abc7 news anchor liz kreutz reports, it's a decision that has sparked a larger conversation about security in the city. >> the decision came late monday night. >> san francisco district attorney brooke jenkins announced her office is dropping murder charges against 33 year old michael earl wayne anthony, the private security guard who fatally shot 24 year old banco brown at a walgreens last week. jenkins says

in oakland, lena howland, abc 7 news. dan: some ous together. it is happening at future star baseball batting cages in oakland. the owner says the pitch came during the last big teacher strike. >> there was a strike in 2019 where i did not think about it, and then after five days, i was like oh, i should do a strike camp. i put the camp together, and then it fell through. so this time, i kind of did it a day or two before. dan: 40 students are registered to play ball, with more on the waitlist. strike camp is set to continue until a deal is reached between the school deserved and teachers union. ama: childcare providers across the state and right here in the bay area rallied today. they are calling for federal and local governments to provide living wages to childcare providers and affordability to families. abc 7 news reporter zach fuentes was at one of the rallies and has more. zach: the cost of childcare continues to be a burden for parents across the country, especially in the bay area. >> no one can afford $29,000 per year per child for day

lena howland has more. se workers got another piece of bad news, after the roof collapsed and killed a worker. peet's will not be able to return to previous capacity and will relocate to tracy, more than 50 miles away. >> i feel like they don't care about us, that's all. lena: a spokesperson for peet's released a statement saying although one tenant -- 110 employees at the facility will be impacted, all employees will be given the opportunity to work at the new distribution center in tracy. samuel: just like everyone else, i'm confused. lena: samuel

. >> lena howland spoke with negotiators on where they are so far in the process. ♪ lena: teachers spendingreak just two days away from friday. >> we had to pick a time we thought we would get their attention. le negotiators worked up until midnight. >> there has been movement on substantial issues, and we are waiting to continue discussions today. lena: proeshas no been des mmond sast tmr biideo s tos with this warning e wednesday night -- >> the issues cannot be tackled through school district budgets alone. they demand the multi agency and government support. moreover, as laudable good clauses may be, they should not hold children's learning hostage. lena: tim douglass who teaches fifth grade and serves as cochair of the union's bargaining team says the numbers are not accurate, and they are simply asking the district for a commitment. >> we are aski f

lena howland has latest. lena: the oakland education association reached a deal with oakland unified around 3:00 on monday. >> we reached an agreement today to raise our compensation by 15%, including a historic collapse of our salary structure. lena: with the agreement, the district says there historic compensation package for the next three years will cost around $70 million. district leaders say it comes with a 10% raise for union employees, retroactive to november 1 and a one-time 5000 dollar bonus. but it comes with investments for students more librarians, counselors, nurses and performative arts teachers. >> it is a necessity given what we are seeing, students bringing into the classroom. it is way too much just for educators on their own. lena: the superintendent says to pay for it all, the board may have to have some tough conversations, further down the road, about things such as revisiting the school consolidation plan. >> i would say we know at the end of the day the math is to make sense. those ar

lena howland talks to fans who say they are eager to see their team en >> the warriors took lakers in the lakers in yellow and purple territory. >> we are ready. >> the warriors, if they wanted to, they could push it. >> warriors fans city to capacity outside of the chief center saturday night with more than 2600 people. about halfway through the fourth -- third quarter warriors fans were caught throwing in the towel and leaving early. >> we will come back stronger and better than ever in the next game. >> the lakers got payback for game two at home, blowing out the warriors on their own home floor by 30 points. >> warriors! >> a great game by the lakers. i was worried about the first quarter, but my lakers come through. >> leaving dubs fans a little disappointed. >> i think the warriors were not in the mood today. it wasn't clicking. the chemistry wasn't there. i think the linkers excelled -- the lakers excelled. >> those loyal to the bay have their eyes set on game four. >> the best we can do from back home is be composed and feel for them, and keep cheering them on. liz: next devel

le -- lena howlande, with the latest. reporter: s teachers gather for a seventh day on the picket lines, the oakland education association says progress has been made. >> there are many places where we've come to agreement. we still have a little bit of work to do. but we are at this moment in time feeling comfortable. reporter: a second grade teacher who serves on the executive board of the union says it is good to know their goals are one of 20 proposals and it's not what is holding it up right now. >> keeping teachers in classrooms year after year includes having counselors, speech pathologists, nurses. a lot is on that financial peace around staffing. reporter: they are calling for an end to the strike and say they are other ways to negotiate outside of a labor agreement. >> i just wish that they would end the strike and allow the last points to get figured out by adults without impacting kids. reporter: he thinks the one billion evaluation which the district said the union's demands would cause comes from the facilit

lena howland, abc7news. karina: nearly 70 ousd stud are relying on a solidarity school being held in the middle of a park. amanda del castillo jo looks at the temporary school started by a parent. amanda: as dozens of students settled around the sequoia picnic area in oakland, a glimpse into the growing solidarity school that has become a lifeline for many families. the woman behind the effort -- >> a quick, swift decision. i brought my stuff from home and came to the park. amanda: a parent herself, she is standing behind the nearly 3000 educators on day six of their strike. yesterday, nearly 70 kids in attendance. she says they aim for a one adult to four kid ratio, with days consisting of mealtime, group activities and classes led by volunteers, many of whom are teachers on strike. >> we are a low income family. my daughter has autism, and i knew sending her to school was not an option. amanda: are only doing their part as the picketing continues. she says she is prepared to host ousd students until the st

lena howlande just spoke with protesters. >> say his name! reporter: four days the 24-year-old four-year-old was shot and killed that he san francisco walgreens, a rally was held to demand justice. >> it is insane that walgreens has armedy. reporter: he says this rally is also to demand housing specifically for black trans youth. >> being a black trans man was complicated for him. being a satyr -- being inside of women's housing or men's housing, he was always targeted. she says brown w of their community organizing interns and connected with the center. he had been experiencing homelessness since he was just 12 years old. >> he was the next in line to receive his housing. reporter: despite sometimes helping others get resources before him through the young women's freedom center, not call for permanent housing never came for brown. >> just seeing the urgency get there. this is the result right here. and we should all be ashamed of ourselves in san francisco. reporter: police say the shooting was originally called in as a shoplifting incident

as you can see, a huge dr lena howland is joining us live now from walnut creek. been struggling.ership numbers still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, which is creating a looming financial cliff. it has become so serious, the agency and other state lawmakers have asked for a state they'll out. but, that is not stopping barred from doing everything they can to attract more riders, bring people back in a very different way. this is bailey the goat. an anime character that is supposed to be a star online employer-based -- she was inspired by the grazing goats, contracted by bart to reduce fire danger on their properties. she is one of five other characters now dubbed as the new anime mascots, all created by artists right here in the golden state. >> i like bird it >> to their website, bart says these anime mascots will help us iour permission -- our mission to promote public transportation. particularly among youth riders. something daily riders like bryant baker say adds to the sense of belonging. >> i think it is nice. it is a part of the b when i was a kid, there wasn't a

lena howland talked to fans who say they are eager for their team to even things out. >> hopes were high going into game three as the warriors took on the lakers in purple and yellow territory. >> i'm super hopeful. we are here. we are ready. >> if they wanted to, they could push it. >> warriors friend -- warriors fans and a few lakers fans packed to capacity outside the chiefs center with more than 2600 people. but about halfway through the third quarter, warriors fans were caught quite literally, throwing in the towel and leaving a little early. >> we are going to come back stronger and better than ever next game and they game after that and they game after that. that's what we do. >> the lakers got payback for game two at home, blowing up the warriors on their own home floor by 30 points. i was worried in the first quarter for a second but the lakers came through. >> leaving dobbs fans a little disappointed. >> i think the warriors were not in the mood. it wasn't clicking. the chemistry just wasn't there. the lakers excelled and this game could have been better if it wasn't for the wa

drowning on the lake is a reminder about the importance of water safety, as we get closer to summer, lena howland warning. reporter: as folks kept up there -- packed up their campers for a long holiday weekend away, many chose to look no further than the lake in the hills of livermore. >> a lot of families out here today. luckily they've got enough people working here that it's not a long line to get in like it used to be. >> i just like swimming a lot. i passed level five. reporter: on saturday, tragedy struck after the district officials say a man and his fiancee were on an inflatable raft outside of the guarded area when an ore for the raft got separated. >> the gentleman decided to separate himself and go into the water for it and did not have the ability to swim, did not have a life jacket on. reporter: the man's body, recovered nearly five hours later. >> with the heavy snow pack, as it melts, the water is very cold. we want to remind people that if they are not sure about their skill set, stay in just deep water and -- chest deep water and swim in a designated area. reporter: some locals o

lena howland has the story. >> weighing in at 9000 pounds, 44-year-old don of the elephant has been a staple at the oakland zoo since 1989. >> at oakland tackle we love elephants. >> for more than three decades the majority of her time was spent with her best friend lisa. >> they would spend almost every night sleeping next to each other. often time in physical contact. >> lisa was euthanized in march due to the deteriorating health issues. >> the weeks following lisa's death we noticed a big difference. she was really unsettled. she was calling, vocalizing for lisa. we just know that not having those female relationships is leaving a big hole in her social opportunity and her overall quality of life. >> colleen kingsley vice president of animal care, conservation and research at the oakland zoo says her team worked with the american zoo association on a new plan for donna to be around other female elephants. on wednesday the announced down i will be moved to an elephant sanctuary in tennessee. >> there are three female elephants in a location at their facility where there would be ro

here's abc 7 news reporter, lena howland after seven days strike the oakland education association reached a deal with oakland unified around 3 o'clock in the morning on monday today. we reached an agreement. raise our compensation by 15% with the common good proposal already agreed upon over the weekend. the district says their historic compensation package for union employees over the next three years will cost around 70 million dollars district leaders say it comes with a 10% raise for all union employees retroactive to november 1st of last year and a one-time $5,000 bonus, but it also comes with investments for students like more teacher librarians counselors nurses and visual and performing arts teachers mental health is in an add-on. it is an absolute necessity but superintendent. kyla johnson tremel says to pay for it all the board may have to have some tough conversations further down the road about things such as revisiting the school consolidation plan. i would just say we all know at the end of the day the math needs to make sense, right? so those are going to have to be some ha