lena howland, abc seven news. >> all right, lena, thank you so much. a busy afternoon, we're now tracking breaking news on a new fire. starting up in the east bay. this is burning east of livermore off patterson pass road, which is not far from 580. in altamont pass. it started in the last hour. an alameda county fire tells us it's already burned 10 to 15 acres. seems to be burning in grass and sending up a lot of that smoke. as you can see, firefighters tell us this fire does not appear to be related to the corral fire burning near tracy. we do have a crew on the way there right now, and we will have an update just as soon as we learn more. >> and here's a live look at that fire now from sky seven. as you can see, it is still very much burning and some light winds pushing the smoke. and of course we're bracing for an increase in temperatures, a rather dramatic increase in temperatures which will not help on the fire lines. abc seven news meteorologist sandyha patel is here with that. sandy. yeah, dan, right now the winds are gusting up to 34 miles an

abc7 news reporter lena howland is here. na, the mayor also lashed out against those trying to recall her. >> reggie that's right. in the first time she spoke publicly since enough signatures were gathered for a ballot measure that could recall her from office, mayor tao said she would not be bullied and threatened out of office. >> i want to know what probable cause the fbi has. >> what evidence have they collected that justifies raiding the home of a city mayor? i want to know more about the handful of billionaires from san francisco and from piedmont who are hell bent on running me out of office. i want to know why. the day following the qualification of a recall election funded by some of the richest people in the bay area, seemed like the right day to execute a warrant. i want to know how the tv cameras knew to show up on my sleepy residential street so early in the morning to capture footage of the raid, tao's home was one of four raided by the fbi on thursday. >> california waste solutions and two other homes associate

live in san francisco lena howland, abc seven news. >> lena, thank you.nes, heads up, there's a big change and it starts today. amanda alaska is moving to a brand new terminal. >> yeah, and so beginning today, alaska is moving from terminal two to the new harvey milk terminal one. >> it's almost every alaska airlines operation. the ticket counters, boarding gates and baggage claim altogether. now, the only thing not moving right now is the alaska airlines lounge. for now, it stays in terminal two until the new lounge opens in terminal one. that should be next month. this relocation comes as a part of terminal 12. $5 billion renovation, which includes a brand new security checkpoint, additional gates and new concessions. and there's more shuffling to come. united will eventually move to terminal two when renovations begin on its current home in terminal three. a lot to keep up with. kumasi back to you. >> thanks, amanda. boeing ceo is supposed to take accountability. when he went before congress and said he said he's proud of the company's safety record an

lena howland abc seven news. >> lena. thank you. smoke from the point fire has prompted an air quality advisory today. the main areas of concern sonoma, napa and solano counties that's downgraded from the spare. the air alert we saw yesterday. officials say people who have breathing problems should limit time outside. we're seeing more wildfires sparking up across the state as the weather begins to warm up. this morning. there are 26 fires burning in california. 15 of those were sparked over the weekend and have already burned more than 20,000 acres. you can track the fires burning across the state and here in the bay area with our abc seven news wildfire tracker. click on the fire icon to learn the latest on each fire, including acres burn and containment. you can find it at abc seven news.com/fire map. >> happening tonight a major vote that could change the city of richmond's relationship with chevron. environmental groups say the refinery should be paying to pollute amanda. city council could let voters decide. >> yea kumasi. >>

lena howland, abc seven news. >> thank you. lena. the state legislature is pumping the brakes on an effort to allow san francisco and other cities to regulate self-driving vehicles. we told you about this yesterday morning. a bay area state senator pulled his bill, claiming a series of amendment proposals would have gutted the measure. abc seven news south bay reporter lauren martinez spoke with him about whether this is the end of the road. >> the fight over who controls self-driving taxis on city streets continues. state senator dave cortez pulled his senate bill 915 this week after the assembly committee on transportation presented major amendments. the bill would allow cities and counties to install their own regulations around autonomous vehicles. >> local mayors, a local city council members. they know their community. they meet every tuesday. they pass the laws every week. they pass new policies every week. we can't do that in sacramento. >> so right now, only the dmv is allowed to issue permits to av companies and has the aut

abc7 news reporter lena howland is here. lena. the mayor also lashed out against those trying to recall her, saying that she won't be bullied and threatened out of office. >> reggie. that's right. and remember this is the first time we're hearing from mayor tao since enough signatures were gathered for a ballot measure that could recall her from office. >> and i want to be crystal clear. i have done nothing wrong . i can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me. >> this was also the mayor's first time addressing the fbi raid at her house on thursday. but just hours after this press conference, we learned the mayor and her attorney, tony brass, parted ways. he said he had no idea she was holding a press conference or what the messaging would be. he said her messaging left him without a defense plan. during tao's speech, she called out past elected officials in oakland but didn't name names. justin burton was director of communications for previous oakland mayor libby schaaf, and is now a media relations stra

live in san francisco lena howland, abc seven news. thanks lena. >> as part of juneteenth celebrations, willie mays is set to be honored tomorrow at the stadium where he started his career rickwood field in birmingham, alabama. the giants will play the cardinals in the first major league game at that stadium. you can see more of our coverage of the giants legend willie mays online at abc seven news.com. >> now we want to update you on the wildfires that are burning across the state. the biggest fires still in southern california that's burned 15,000 acres so far, the second biggest fire here in northern california in colusa county. amanda is tracking the situation there. >> kumasi the sites. fire has exploded in size since it started on monday. it's now more than 15,000 acres and is just 5% contained. colusa county is pretty sparsely populated, but there are evacuation orders for people living there. cal fire says high winds and the remote area where the fire is burning have made this one hard to control. in calaveras county, the arrow

live in studio lena howland, abc seven news. >> lena rates also took place in a quiet neighborhood in the hills of oakland. a neighbor who didn't want to be identified, said she heard the fbi say they were carrying out a federal warrant. >> and then i started hearing, uh, this is the fbi. open up. come out with your hands up. >> the house belongs to andy duong, and he's listed as director at california waste solutions, a recycling company that serves oakland just before noon yesterday, the fbi inspected a mercedes benz that was parked outside that home. 30 minutes later, an unidentified couple leaving the house drove off in that vehicle. meanwhile, u.s. postal inspectors collected evidence at a nearby home that belongs to david duong, who's andy's father and who's listed as the ceo of california waste solutions. now, the family business is california. waste solutions released this statement. it reads california waste solutions is fully aware that federal agents executed search warrants at a number of locations in oakland and rel

abc seven news reporter lena howland is live outside oracle park, with more on the special event and how fans can participate. lena >> reggie. starting at noon today, doors will open here at oracle park. the giants wanted to give grieving fans an opportunity to come pay their respects in person and sign a condolence book. now, the giants say this is a free program in honor of willie mays. at 415, the ballpark scoreboard will air an away game between the giants and the saint louis cardinals that's being played at rickwood field in birmingham, alabama, the same place where mays career began back in 1948. the mlb says the game will serve as a tribute to mays and to the leagues, in which he played before and after the game. oracle park will be showing historic images of mays on the big screen. >> my dad went to opening day, the first giants game ever, seals stadium in 58 and got to see willie mays play. and i lost my dad almost two years ago. sorry i brought flowers for, for willie, but for my dad >> and that was just one of the many stories we heard from fans stopping by the willie mays

live in studio lena howland, abc seven news. >> thank you. lena. raids also took place in a quiet neighborhood in the hills of oakland. a neighbor who didn't want to be identified, said she heard the fbi say they were carrying out a federal warrant. >> and then i started hearing, uh, this is the fbi. open up. come out with your hands up. >> the house belongs to andy duong. he's listed as director at california waste solutions. that recycling company that serves the city of oakland. just before noon yesterday, the fbi inspected a mercedes benz that was parked outside that home. and then 30 minutes later, an unidentified couple leaving the house drove off in that vehicle. meanwhile u.s. postal inspectors collected evidence at a nearby house that belonged to david duong, andy's father, who is listed as the ceo of california waste solutions, now the duong family's business, california waste solutions, released this statement. it reads california waste solutions is fully aware that federal agents executed search warrants at a number of locations in oakl

lena howland abc seven news. >> lena. thank you.l night for people forced to leave their homes. it's located at el molino high school in forestville. people can't stay there, but the county and red cross are on site helping people with resources. the site opened shortly after the evacuations were ordered. county officials say the area being evacuated has about 400 residents. the fire is still spreading and the county says everyone needs to be ready in case more places need to be evacuated. >> this is just a temporary evacuation point, so where people first are sent and from there they can, you know, charge up cell phones, get some some water and refreshment and be referred to other places to go for shelter. >> currently, this is not threatening any high population area, but it's definitely something where getting those individuals out allows the firefighters to get in and do structure control, which is what they're doing right now. >> if needed, another site could be open in petaluma, cal fire stations are fully staffed for these re

lena howland, abc seven news lena, thank you. >> we continue to follow the story of the controversial center bike lane on valencia street in the mission district in san francisco during a digital roundtable yesterday, san francisco's transit agency said they're ready to propose the removal of that center bike lane. merchants blame it for a decline in business because it eliminated 70 parking spots. abc seven spoke with the business owner, who has run a coffee shop on valencia for 33 years. >> financially, definitely. we're hurting and we had the place up for sale about about three months ago. >> best option for both safety and to support the local merchants is likely side running a design. >> it's interesting is that while one of the designs would have people riding bikes around and restaurant parklets, another one would put the bike lane between the curb and the parklets. and according to the chronicle, sfmta will allow each merchant to decide which configuration they want. so imagine now the bike lane swerving in and around parklets depending on what the business owner decides. sfmt

lena howland abc seven news. >> that is great news, lena. thank you.he biggest wildfire in the state right now is threatening 50 homes and the 53,000 acre sespe condor sanctuary in southern california . this is the post fire. it started burning in gorman in los angeles county on saturday. it is more than 15,000 acres in size, and this one is only 20% contained. so here's some of the damage it left behind in gorman. it destroyed nearly two dozen cars at this auto repair shop off i-5. more than a thousand firefighters are working to put it out, so the crews are in there right now going direct, trying to put hand line in to prevent the fire from further spreading into those drainages. uh- ucla climate scientist says the wet, rainy seasons have grown a lot of grass and brush that's n fueling the flames. you can track the fires burning across the state and here in the bay area. with our abc seven news wildfire tracker, click on the fire icon to learn the latest on each of the fires, including the acres burn and the containment. you'll find that at abc seven

abc seven news reporter lena howland joining us. th the new life being really breathed into the emporium in downtown, formerly known as the westfield mall, lena. >> kumasi there's a good chance you may start to notice some new faces, as there are seven tenants moving in to the emporium in downtown san francisco for the last few years. major tenants have packed up and left the mall, including nordstrom. but things are now looking up. one of those new tenants moving in is the yerba buena community benefit district executive director scott rowett says the space is exactly what he wanted, noting this isn't just a mall but an office space too. >> we know now is the time and now is the time for everybody to get on board, reinvest, reinvigorate and refocus these neighborhoods. and so we want to lead the charge to do that. >> his business will bring around 30 employees who will begin working in the space in the coming weeks. other new tenants moving in include a retailer selling sustainable products and a japanese consumer goods store live i

. >> and we continue our team coverage with abc seven news reporter lena howland in the east bay. >> lena. >> well, it is hot, hot, hot out here at 100 degrees in brentwood right now. and yet we are finding no shortage of families outside, whether it's here at a splash pad, out on a boat or even out on a hike. we checked in with fire officials about what you should be doing now to protect yourself during this heat wave. during the b first heat wave of 2020, for more than 120, anglers from across the country have set sail in oakley, hoping to make their biggest catch of the year. >> i'm from kentucky, western kentucky. it does get warm there, but we don't very often hit triple digits. >> ellen gray is director of the major league fishing western toyota series. the series kicked off at six wednesday morning, when anglers were encouraged to hydrate early and often, and to wear protective clothing. >> if we don't take care of the fishermen and the resources being the fish, then we can't have fish and tournaments because, he says, all fish caught here are released back into the water every

abc7 news reporter lena howland spoke with students who have mixed reactions. on friday. stanford following suit behind harvard, yale and dartmouth, deciding to reinstate standardized test score requirements during the admissions process. >> the pendulum has swung all the way. the other direction, and the narrative once again, is , doggone it, i guess we need these tests. >> that's adam ingersoll, co-founder of compass education, a national provider for test prep and academic tutoring. he says the school first went test optional in 2020 because of public health concerns. the university said in a statement on friday. the renewed testing requirement will allow stanford to consider the fullest array of information in support of each student's application. they add a review of their policy, also found test scores are an important predictor of academic performance at stanford. >> they're simply saying that we think more information is better and we want to be trusted to consider everything that is available about a student's academic preparedness. >> though many students say t

abc seven news reporter lena howland is following the story and joins us live from the newsroom with why leaders say this is so important. >> lena umma officials say this was so important because they need $25 million to make it happen. and they're not going to use any taxpayer money. now, fundraising can begin, but some people feel like the zoo is just not ready to take care of these animals. another big step forward in mayor london breeds plan to bring pandas to the san francisco zoo as early as next year, less than two months after signing an agreement with chinese wildlife officials, the city just cleared the way to allow fundraising to begin. >> we're not using tax dollars. this will all be funded privately. >> supervisor joel engardio co-sponsored the resolution that will allow for city departments to solicit donations from private entities, even if they do business with the city. something that usually raises ethical concerns. but engardio says it's a critical next step in the process. >> what it means is that we can start the process to do the private fundraising necessary to

as abc seven news reporter lena howland shows, they came from all over, even if they didn't get a chanceo see him face to face. >> supporters of former president donald trump lined up along san francisco's famous marina green and waited for hours. >> the reason we're here today is to support trump and in his agenda and for me, it's drill, baby drill and border security. >> this supporter from fremont said his flag was sent from his friends back in idaho back in 2016, the first time trump ran for president. eight years ago, i fly it proudly for trump and hopefully he'll see it when he stops by. though trump never stopped by a giant inflatable trump chicken, did wearing a prison shirt, the former president was convicted by a new york city jury one week ago of 34 charges in the hush money trial. >> we just felt it was really important to kind of see for ourselves what was going to be going on out here. >> david pro-park out of monte sereno, says he wanted to show there is still a conservative voter base in the bay area. this despite san francisco giving trump just 13% of the vote the last t

as abc seven news reporter lena howland shows, they came from all over, even if they didn't get a chance to see him face to face. >> supporters of former president donald trump lined up along san francisco's famous marina green and waited for hours. >> the reason we're here today is to support trump and in his agenda and for me, it's drill, baby drill and border security. >> this supporter from fremont said his flag was sent from his friends back in idaho back in 2016, the first time trump ran for president. eight years ago, i fly it proudly for trump and hopefully he'll see it when he stops by. though trump never stopped by a giant inflatable trump chicken, did wearing a prison shirt, the former president was convicted by a new york city jury one week ago of 34 charges in the hush money trial. >> we just felt it was really important to kind of see for ourselves what was going to be going on out here. >> david pro-park out of monte sereno, says he wanted to show there is still a conservative voter base in the bay area. this despite san francisco giving trump just 13% of the vote the last

lena howland, abc seven news. >> more news from higher education tonight. an orange county judge is putting an end to a strike involving academic workers at six university of california campuses. the uc system sought a temporary restraining order against the workers, claiming the strike was causing damage to students. education uaw workers began striking over the university system's response to pro-palestinian protests on campus tonight. the union president is vowing to continue with this legal battle in the east bay. a brush fire near brentwood is 95% contained tonight. it started at around 11:00 this morning near albers court and deer valley road, and quickly grew to just over 20 acres. firefighters eventually got a handle on it about an hour later and stopped the forward progress. a no injuries reported, no structures were lost, so that's all good. the cause, though, is still under investigation. all right, let's turn now to the weather because we are getting a break from the heat wave that heat and the wind the last few days made some difficulty on the

reporting live in brentwood, lena howland, abc seven news. >> all right, lena, try to stay cool out theres people seek relief from the heat. a warning for beach goers. the national weather service has issued a beach hazard statement for today and tomorrow, because waves of up to 20ft are possible. this is video from half moon bay, taken about 20 minutes ago. the beach hazard statement covers all of the bay area and stretches from cloverdale to monterey. it does not include the santa cruz coast, however. now to another kind of hazard heat and fireworks. >> with the 4th of july coming up, hayward police are sending out a warning to anyone thinking about using fireworks in their city. the department says anyone caught shooting off fireworks can face up to $50,000 in fines. in addition, property owners where the activity takes place will be fined. >> now to the race for the white house. and today, vice president kamala harris was in the bay area for several fundraisers. she was met with protesters in both oakland and san francisco. abc seven news reporter luz pena was in the mission district,

lena howland, abc seven news. >> more news from higher education tonight.n orange county judge is putting an end to a strike involving academic workers at six university of california campuses. the uc system sought a temporary restraining order against the workers, claiming the strike was causing damage to students. education uaw workers began striking over the university system's response to pro-palestinian protests on campus tonight. the union president is vowing to continue with this legal battle in the east bay. a brush fire near brentwood is 95% contained tonight. it started at around 11:00 this morning near albers court and deer valley road, and quickly grew to just over 20 acres. firefighters eventually got a handle on it about an hour later and stopped the forward progress. a no injuries reported, no structures were lost, so that's all good. the cause, though, is still under investigation. all right, let's turn now to the weather because we are getting a break from the heat wave that heat and the wind the last few days made some difficulty on the fi

lena howland abc seven news. >> all right, lena, thanks very much. the building that burned was an affordable housing project that's been in the works for a decade. called middlefield junction. it was designed to have 180 units plus a child care center. construction started last summer and was supposed to finish next year. san mateo county supervisor warren slocum spoke with us about it during our live streamed coverage earlier today. >> it's just unfortunate and it's heartbreaking that the building is probably a total loss at this point. we've been working on this for ten years and it's a travesty because in california, affordable housing is so difficult to get built. it takes so long. and the primary problem is the financing of those developments. and this was a unique development in that it had one, two and three bedroom units. three bedrooms is pretty unusual. and so families were going to get to enjoy this new building. and those three bedroom units, uh- childcare and community reading room, community meeting rooms. so all that is gone now, as i

lena howland abc seven news. >> lena. thank you. this fire is really tough blow for san mateo county's work. trying to create more affordable housing. this complex under construction would have had 179 apartments for lower income families and unhoused people, along with a child care center, san mateo county supervisor warren slocum told us. the loss of these units is heartbreaking, for the board of supervisors started working on this project ten years ago, so it's been ten years in the making. >> construction, started last year, anticipating to be completed at the by the end of next year. and, you know, it's just heartbreaking. it's a tragedy for the community. and it's a special tragedy for those that are in need of affordable housing, which is so scarce. >> this project was a partnership between san mateo county, mercy housing california and other investors. one more time, a live look in redwood city at what are the remains, the remnants of this building that was under construction. again, an eight alarm fire. you do not see too m

abc seven news reporter lena howland shows you how the video of the attack turned into a sell out day. >> it was only two weeks ago when 50 year old felipe ramos batista was crossing the street when three masked people ran up with guns drawn in this surveillance video circulating social media, one suspect knocks the ice cream vendor to the ground and then the group runs off with some of his belongings. jose batista says he felt right there and then that he was going to be dead. batista is a father originally from guatemala, who says he just moved here from san diego. he had only been working as an ice cream vendor for 45 days before this attack. >> when i saw the video was just awful. >> enter christian fragoso after seeing the video, he teamed up with a friend to track the ice cream vendor down. >> sometimes when people get robbed, they don't have no one. you know, no one to get help from. so we wanted to step up and help them. >> and boy did they by inviting the entire community to come by. batista out on sunday. one ice cream at a time. even oakland firefighters stopped by and wait

live in studio lena howland, abc seven news. >> thanks, lena. while you're sleeping, president biden touched down in italy. he's there this morning for the start of the g7 summit, a meeting of america's closest allies. gloria is here now. top priorities will be a new security agreement. and ukraine and with ukraine, as you say, and new sanctions against russia. >> yeah. that's right, reggie, president biden and ukrainian president zelensky are expected to sign that new security agreement today before holding a joint news conference. the deal will affirm america's long term support for ukraine, but not commit any u.s. forces to defend the country. the u.s. also announcing new economic sanctions meant to discourage countries like china from doing business with russia. this is all happening as russian warships are on full display just 100 miles off florida's coast, as it carries out military drills with cuba for the first time in 16 years. the pentagon is downplaying the significance of the move. >> this is not a surprise. we're always constantly g

abc seven news reporter lena howland is in the newsroom to explain why. say, lena, this is so important. >> dan that's right. officials say this was so important because they need $25 million to make it happen. and they're not going to use any taxpayer money. now fundraising can begin, but some people feel like the zoo is just not ready to take care of these animals. another big step forward in mayor london breeds plan to bring pandas to the san francisco zoo. as early as next year, less than two months after signing an agreement with chinese wildlife officials. the city just cleared the way to allow fundraising to begin. >> we're not using tax dollars this will all be funded privately. >> supervisor joel engardio, co-sponsor the resolution that will allow for city departments to solicit donations from private entities, even if they do business with the city, something that usually raises ethical concerns. but engardio says it's a critical next step in the process. >> what it means is that we can start the process to do the private fundraising necessary to

lena howland, abc seven news. >> taking the stand today, paul pelosi himself testified against the man who broke into his home and attacked him with a hammer. highlights from the courtroom, including the inflatable unicorn costume, are next. i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. it felt like summer today. you will get a break from the heat this weekend, but not for long. i'll explain when abc ♪ jardiance! -it's a little pill with a ♪ ♪ big story to tell. ♪ ♪ i take once-daily jardiance ♪ ♪ at each day's staaart. ♪ ♪ as time went on it was easy to seeee, ♪ ♪ i'm lowering my a1c! ♪ jardiance works twenty-four seven in your body to flush out some sugar. and for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. serious side effects may include ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital yeast or urinary tract infections. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you hav

abc seven news reporter lena howland explains how sellers plan to distribute them safely. nonprofits across dublin are gearing up to help celebrate america's birthday with a bang for dublin high. >> for athletics, this is our biggest fundraiser of the year. >> 15 safe and sane fireworks stands across dublin opened at noon on friday. each one is operated by a different organization, which gets to keep 50% of the proceeds. the dublin high school booster club is one of those groups. >> yeah, every year we get people from all over the bay area that come and purchase their fireworks. >> the money that we raise goes for uniforms. anything related to athletics when they have meets anything like that for the trainers. >> tim putney here from san ramon, was one of the first in line. >> i'm a little surprised that they're still doing it with everybody else pulling back. but but you know glad they are. i think it's a lot of fun. and you know if it's done the right way and safely, you know, people can have a lot of fun. the use of safe and sane fireworks is only permitted at single fa

abc seven news reporter lena howland has arrived in cloverdale, where cal fire is planning to hold a iefing in just about 30 minutes. lena kumasi that's right. >> we just got to the cloverdale citrus fairgrounds, where we are expecting to get another update from cal fire officials in about 30 minutes. now, earlier this morning, we learned from fire crews that they did face some favorable conditions overnight with some cooler weather and tamer winds. they said that paid off and that helped increase containment numbers from 15, up to 20. take a look at this video taken from overnight. white flames were fanned across dry creek road and mountain view ranch road last night, right around 11 cal. fire says they had 36 engines on the fire through the night with seven dozers, six hand crews and three water tenders. they confirmed some structures were destroyed in this fire, but could not confirm how many or if any of those were homes yesterday, hundreds of residents along west dry creek road in sonoma county were ordered to leave their home for their own safety. thousands of others told to sta

lena howland, abc seven news. >> it's going to get more expensive to cross the golden gate bridge soon. how much, when and why? no other bridge tolls will be changing at the same time. >> and coming up next, we are counting down to san francisco's pride parade, which not going to be a part of this weekend's festivities. >> and abc seven is the official station for the san francisco pride parade. our coverage kicks off sunday at 10 a.m. the parade starts at 1030. see it wherever you watch abc7 pride celebration and parade is just days away. it is on sunday. this afternoon, sf pride kicked off the festivities announcing the community grand marshals for this weekend. the pride parade preview party was held at the lgbt community center in the city. this year's theme is beacon of love. abc seven news meteorologist drew tuma was the emcee for the event, and on abc seven news at four. we talked with suzanne ford, the executive director of sf pride, about events leading up to sunday's big parade. >> we wanted something on thursday and we wanted because we know that the eyes of the world are on

abc seven news reporter lena howland gives you a look ahead at the former president's visit. >> many's trek through fencing and dirt to get into the back entrance of a burlingame hotel while trying to avoid protesters during a 2016 campaign stop on the peninsula. >> then we went under a fence and through a fence and oh boy, i felt like i was crossing the border. actually less than a week after being convicted of 34 charges by a new york city jury in the hush money trial, trump is returning to the bay area for a campaign fundraiser in san francisco. >> the more that he can sell to his supporters that he's a victim, he thinks the better he's going to do electorally. >> nolan higdon, a cal state east bay professor of history and communication, says he believes trump is taking full advantage of the timing of this trip. >> there's at least some part of trump that thinks in terms of politics and campaigning. this is great for him. this is a great time to fundraise. and he did raise roughly about 52 million. shortly after the verdicts came out, the political news outlet puck news obtained t

it happened at gourmet cellar off washington avenue, as abc seven news reporter lena howland uncovered. this was not the thieves only stop. >> this is the moment a car backed into san leandro's gourmet cellar liquor store. three people were then caught on camera rummaging through the store. >> all i'm feeling the need to have a damage like that. the business is going to be closed for. >> i don't know how long, but less than a minute later it happened again. surveillance video from inside shows suspects repeatedly slamming into the store, getting further inside each time. tony singh has owned the store since 2016. >> been there going back and forth for few times for atm, but they're not able to get it. >> but it didn't end there. later thursday morning, san leandro police say the same car used in this incident was found less than five miles away in oakland. the car rammed through the gate of a marijuana dispensary called 420 market, though the suspects never got into their building. the dispensary owner said between 50 to $60,000 worth of damage was done to their fence and gate. >> it's

lena howland, abc seven news. >> as lena mentioned, the trump chicken came out of storage for tonight'sundraiser. we saw it fully inflated and floating around san francisco bay this afternoon. earlier in the day, the wind seemed to be causing some problems and it had a little trouble staying upright. the chickens last appearance was in 2021, after president biden was elected and earlier today we talked with abc seven news insider phil matier about the former president's visit to san francisco. >> he provided some insight into what mr. trump gains and who is supporting him tonight. >> where is it coming from? it's coming out of san francisco and silicon valley tech that is a statement that is a statement out there that he is relevant, that he is relevant after the convictions that he still rolling. and there's two things a politician and especially donald trump wants to get every day. that's money and attention and publicity. and he's getting both of those things by coming to blue california and especially by coming into san francisco. >> phil says the expected haul from tonight's fundra

abc seven news reporter lena howland explains how they plan to do this all safely. >> nonprofits across help celebrate america's birthday with a bang for dublin high. >> for athletics, this is our biggest fundraiser of the year. >> 15 safe and sane fireworks stands across dublin opened at noon on friday. each one is operated by a different organization which gets to keep 50% of the proceeds. the dublin high school booster club is one of those groups. >> yeah, every year we get people from all over the bay area that come and purchase their fireworks. the money that we raise goes for uniforms. anything related to athletics when they have meets anything like that for the trainers. >> tim putney, here from san ramon, was one of the first in line. >> i'm a little surprised that they're still doing it with everybody else pulling back, but but you know glad they are. i think it's a lot of fun. and you know if it's done the right way and safely, you know, people can have a lot of fun. >> the use of safe and sane fireworks is only permitted at single family homes here in dublin, and four differe

abc seven news reporter lena howland has the video of the attack that persuaded people to take action. >> it was only two weeks ago when 50 year old felipe ramos batista was crossing the street, when three masked people ran up with guns drawn in this surveillance video circulating social media, one suspect knocks the ice cream vendor to the ground and then the group runs off with some of his belongings in your authentic, batista says he felt right there and then that he was going to be dead. batista is a father originally from guatemala who says he just moved here from san diego. he had only been working as an ice cream vendor for 45 days before this attack. >> when i saw the video was just awful. >> enter christian fragoso. after seeing the video, he teamed up with a friend to track the ice cream vendor down. >> sometimes when people get robbed, they don't have no one. you know, no one to get help from. so we wanted to step up and help them. >> and boy did they by inviting the entire community to come by. batista out on sunday. one ice cream at a time. even oakland firefighters stopp

it's not just about a renovation, though, as abc seven news reporter lena howland explains, this thiss also celebrating history. >> the finishing touches are being made to bring a theater nearly a century old back to life. >> literally has been years and years, but finally all come to fruition. >> sean mccauley is a bay area redeveloper who was born and raised in brentwood. he and a partner purchased the theater back in 2019, right before they had to close it due to the pandemic. >> the delta theater for brentwood is the anchor, and it's the anchor for downtown, which is very vibrant but without the theater operating, we feel like it's just not going to, work. >> the theater underwent an extensive four year renovation and is now reopening >> everything is brand new. the screens sound system, everything. >> the grand reopening is thursday, timed to coincide with the release of pixar's inside out two nostalgia that was like 30s ago. >> nostalgia. >> yeah, those were the days. >> guests at the delta theater will also feel the nostalgia, with hallways lined of old photos of brentwood shar

abc7 news reporter lena howland spoke with students who have mixed reactions. on friday, stanford following suit behind harvard, yale and dartmouth, deciding to reinstate standardized test score requirements during the admissions process, the pendulum has swung all the way. >> the other direction and the narrative once again is, doggone it, i guess we need these tests. >> that's adam ingersoll, co-founder of compass education, a national provider for test prep and academic tutoring. he says the school first went test optional in 2020 because of public health concerns, the university said in a statement on friday. the renewed testing requirement will allow stanford to consider the fullest array of information in support of each student's application. they add a review of their policy. also found test scores are an important predictor of academic performance at stanford. >> they're simply saying that we think more information is better , and we want to be trusted to consider everything that is available about a student's academic preparedness. >> though many stud

abc seven news reporter lena howland has that story. >> once every three months, christopher generoso makes a trip from hayward to oakland. he's made the same trip religiously for the past five years. he's getting treatment for his diabetes. >> the biggest help for me, because i don't have insurance. >> generoso found the order of malta clinic of northern california through his friends, who also had no other place to go. a clinic which he says changed his life. >> i never knew that i am on the border of diabetes until they took me in. >> the clinic was founded 16 years ago when the cathedral of christ the light was built across from oakland's lake merritt. the order of malta is an international lay religious organization of the catholic church dedicated to free medical care. the need from uninsured or underinsured people across the bay area has grown dramatically since 2008, and the clinic outgrew its space. three who on wednesday, the clinic cut a ribbon marking a new chapter. the clinic had been shut down for six months while crews worked to double the size with twice as many exam r

lena howland abc seven news. >> today in san francisco, a 4th of july parade with an early twist. it's happening along san francisco's great highway. all the floats will be powered by people pedaling, and you can see those floats getting all fancy with decor. the friends of the great highway are partnering with the san francisco recreation and parks department to put on this parade, and it follows the great highway from noriega to judah. the parade starts at noon today. so, lisa, a 4th of july parade. but we're not quite in july yet. almost. >> you know, usually we have some, you know, sort of coolish weather. i don't really remember it being super hot, but it is going to be we're looking at an extensive warming trend that's going to last through the 4th of july. but i think the peak heat is going to arrive tuesday and wednesday, july second and third. but we are looking at the possibility of the watches being extended into next weekend. so as we look at live doppler seven right now, there's a system offshore and that is actually going to keep us comfortable for today and tomorrow

lena howland, abc seven news an orange county judge is putting an end to a strike involving academic workers at six university of california campuses. >> the uc system sought a temporary restraining order against the workers. it claimed the strike was causing damage to students. education. uaw workers began striking over the uk's response to pro-palestinian protests on campus. the union president is vowing to continue the legal fight in the east bay. now. a brush fire near brentwood is 85% contained and has now burned more than 20 acres. it started at around 11 yesterday morning near albers court in deer valley road. firefighters remained on scene overnight trying to knock down the flames. no injuries were reported and no structures were lost. the cause is not known. this morning. well, this weekend is the last for a horse racing at golden gate fields. now the mayor of berkeley says it's time to think big about what comes next. abc seven news reporter anser hassan has redevelopment plans for the prized waterfront property. >> when the last horse crosses the finish line this weekend,

. >> as abc seven news reporter lena howland learned his family has deep ties to the firefighting community. >> oakland firefighters honoring a fallen colleague on thursday morning, hanging a relief banner outside fire station three. >> we're all devastated, you know there is no other way to take it. >> oakland fire chief damon covington says 25 year old caden laffin died in what appears to be a drowning incident in san diego. he was there for the california firefighter summer games with several other oakland firefighters. police say they responded to a report of a lost swimmer at pacific beach near crystal pier around two in the morning. they searched the area and about two hours later, caden's body washed up. >> caden was a rising star, very sharp individual. we had big plans for him, for his future. so it's extremely tragic. >> his family is deeply embedded in the oakland fire department. his father was oakland's assistant fire chief, sean laffin, the 42 year old died of a heart attack in the line of duty back in 2020. >> caden wanted to follow in his footsteps. caden, brothers cooper is

abc seven news reporter lena howland explains how sellers plan to distribute those fireworks safely. >> nonprofits across dublin are gearing up to help celebrate america's birthday with a bang for dublin high. >> for athletics, this is our biggest fundraiser of the year. >> 15 safe and sane fireworks stands across dublin opened at noon on friday. each one is operated by a different organization which gets to keep 50% of the proceeds. the dublin high school booster club is one of those groups. >> yeah, every year we get people from all over the bay area that come and purchase their fireworks. the money that we raise goes for uniforms. anything related to athletics when they have meets anything like that for the trainers. >> tim putney here from san ramon, was one of the first in line. >> i'm a little surprised that they're still doing it with everybody else pulling back. but but you know glad they are. i think it's a lot of fun. and you know if it's done the right way and safely, you know, people can have a lot of fun. >> the use of safe and sane fireworks is only permitted at single

lena howland abc seven news. >> and you saw the poster there for inside out, too.bc seven news anchor reggie aqui got an inside look at inside out, too. he learned how to draw the newest character, anxiety. take a look >> welcome to pixar headquarters. the creators of all of these characters, you know, like joy and sadness from inside out one. now get ready for inside out two. riley, the main character is a teenager and she has lots of anxiety. >> i'm anxiety. i'm one of riley's new emotions and we are just super jazzed to be here. where can i put my stuff? >> so my name is keiko maruyama. i am a character art director on inside out two. character art director kind of oversees the character design team. nice. well who is this? this is anxiety, giana muscles, who was a character designer from the first movie. she was kind enough to join us. and then she made this iconic anxiety. she gave anxiety, like, really big line and big mouth so she can have big acting and lots of hair. electric city just going through . she's always thinking tinkling. >> yeah. okay, so you're

that is where we find abc seven news reporter lena howland. selina, what do we know about this?dro right now tracking a very serious hit and run that has left a massive hole here inside of this business right behind me. this is a liquor store, as you mentioned, called gourmet cellar. and you can still see quite a bit of damage inside and out of this building. alameda county fire got the call about the car that crashed into the building right around 420. this morning. the liquor store was burglarized and then the car involved took off. i just talked to the owner a few minutes ago here on scene, and he says, this is a family run business and it has been in this location since 2016. he says he believes the suspect backed into their business at least three times in order to break through their front doors. the atm machine was even ripped from the wall during the crash. now, merchendise can be seen scattered all over the floor. now the owners are working with their insurance provider. right now to figure out the next steps for this. no word yet on any suspect information from police

lena howland, abc seven news. >> all right. joining me now is abc seven news insider phil matier.tion do you think the former president is likely to receive here, given that this will be his first appearance in the bay area since the hush money trial in new york? >> probably a very pleasant one because he ignores any of his critics, including any of the protesters that might be out along the route or even at the outside. the event, because he's going to be bringing in not something blue, not something red, but something green. this uh- hosted event is a sellout. they're getting anywhere from 50 to $500,000 per person or per group. it's sold out in advance, so while san francisco has this image of being a solidly blue state, there is a lot of red money here. and silicon valley is coming out and opening up their checkbooks in big numbers for donald trump. >> interesting. i want to continue on that point in a moment. but first, we've heard mr. trump disparage the bay area quite a bit in the past. listen to him talking about nancy pelosi and san francisco back in 2019, san francisco,

. >> as abc seven news reporter lena howland learned his family has deep ties to the firefighting communityn thursday morning, hanging a relief banner outside fire station three. >> we're all devastated, you know there is no other way to take it. >> oakland fire chief damon covington says 25 year old caden laffin died in what appears to be a drowning incident in san diego. he was there for the california firefighter summer games with several other oakland firefighters. police say they responded to a report of a lost swimmer at pacific beach near crystal pier around two in the morning. they searched the area and about two hours later, caden's body washed up. >> caden was a rising star, very sharp individual. we had big plans for him, for his future. so it's extremely tragic. >> his family is deeply embedded in the oakland fire department. his father was

abc seven news reporter lena howland is sweltering in the east bay. >> we begin with spencer christian closer look right now at the fire right there is off silverado trail on the eastern side of napa valley, up around saint helena, which is at 102 degrees right now. it's probably hotter than that because that was the 3:00 reading, waiting for the 4:00 readings to update. and as you might guess, under these, this excessive heat, our systems here are not up to date as they should be. they're sort of malfunctioning. but i can tell you that the wind has been generally light in that area. but there must be occasional gusts now near the fire because these fires generate their own gusts at the base of the fire. so we know it's over 100 degrees. there we know the relative humidity is low, and of course the wind uh- last wind report there was about 11mph. but that was the steady one. that was not the gusts. so as you're looking at this uh- panel temperatures right now, you see we have severalat

lena howland abc seven news. >> today in san francisco, a 4th of july parade with an early twist. it's happening along san francisco's great highway and all the floats will be powered by people pedaling. and you can see some of those floats getting all fancy with decor. the friends of the great highway are partnering with the san francisco rec and parks department to put on this parade, and it follows the great highway from noriega to judah. the parade starts at noon today, and if you're still figuring out those 4th of july plans, we can help. we put together a long list of all the big independence day events across the bay area, plus some tips on keeping pets calm when fireworks start going off. that story is one of the top things people are actually clicking on on our website right now. it's up for you on the top news sidebar over on abc seven news.com. well, lisa, we have 4th of july parades. obviously, pride weekends a lot going on. and you said the best weekend is this weekend that we. i think so yes, we have fog and i know we have a lot of fog lovers. >> at least if you don'