melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >> california is making progress in the fight against covid-19. the number hospitalized with the virus dropped by more than 200 since yesterday. the cdc says new research should calm fears of side effects from a booster shot. more than 22,000 people who got their third dose were studied. symptoms were mild and it did not last long. new developments on the nba's vaccine rules. the league released a statement saying any player who does not comply will not be paid for games they missed. this will impact warriors forward andrew wiggins. last week, the nba denied his request for religious exemption from getting the vaccine. without it, he will not be able to play at chase center because of san francisco's vaccine requirement. he also will not get paid for those home games and he has to sit. >> in the north bay, marin county opened its very first booster vaccination site at the northgate mall. the site can be found at the former victoria's secret location. marin county residents 75 years of age or older are eligible for the covid-19 booster shot. approv

melanie woodrow, abc seven news. dan: a plan unveiled today to combat homelessness in san jose calls to increase the un-house population by 20%. the mayor said it is built on new rapid built housing consisting of prefabricated modular units. a woman who has been -- said --d enabled her to find a permanent home. >> i want other people like myself to succeed in their job search, housing, everything. my husband and i just signed our lease yesterday for an apartment and we are moving out today. dan: construction on a new new built housing site is scheduled to begin within the next 60 days, pending approval from the city council. >> the former defense testified about his time on the there are no --theranos he said he would've had a different view of the company if he had known the limitations of the blood testing device, including that it could only run about a dozen test on its own system. his testimony is key to the prosecution's case in one of the most closely watched broad trials in years. california governor gavin ne

melanie woodrow has the story. >> not far from where a great grandmother was brutally attacked and visitation valley and died, san francisco city leaders and the california attorney general gathered. >> there is no room for hate here, not anywhere, not now or not ever. >> this after chinatown night out, an event aimed at better connecting the community with police. san francisco's mayor said suspects in attacks on asian americans have been caught. >> a most every incident that occurred, those folks have been arrested. they are awaiting trial. they are behind bars. we are hopeful they will be held accountable. >> we asked police and prosecutors about the numbers, just how many people have been arrested for these crimes and how many people are being charged. >> in 2021, we have had 83 reported hate crimes. that doesn't tell the whole story. >> the police chief says that is because not every hate crime is reported. of the 83, he says 59%, or 49 of those crimes, were on people from the api community. >> one person is now in custody and has been filed by a district attorney. >> in 2021, the distri

melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. bay, cutting covid-19 risk by cutting lunch is the plan for the windsor school district. wayne freedman explains why kids are only allowed 14 minutes to eat. reporter: for allor allor allorl covid has changed our lives, here is one you may not have seen coming, a rush for the daily school lunch. >> spread yourselves out. reporter: that is the principal at washburn elementary in windsor, whereas the kids grabbed lunch, they also prepare for a race against time. it is an adaptation prompted by a day last month when two covid exposures forced them to close down an entire grade level. >> kissing seemed irresponsible for us not to address it. -- it seemed irresponsible for us not to address it. that is a lot students out. reporter: students now get a grand total of 14 minutes in which to remove their masks and eat. you might wonder why 14 minutes -- it seems like an odd number -- but there is a reason for it. state guidelines mandate full quarantines after an exposure at 15 minutes. 14 min

you just don't sleep right when you don't know what's wrong with your pub in san francisco melanie woodrower is going to change this weekend. so are we talking salad or soup weather spencer has that answer as to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want, and need... and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. living longer is possible and proven with kisqali when taken with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor in premenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor alone. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruisi

because of fear. >> in san francisco, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >> let's get to our weather conditions now. >> spencer, not quietly heatwave on the horizon. more of a bump. >> is going to be hot for a couple of days. right now, we are looking at very comfortable conditions. a breezy evening around the bay area. wind speeds at the surface of 15 or 20 miles per hour over most of the region. check out that sunset. things are looking westward. let's look at the current temperature, 62 degrees in san francisco. here is a view at the golden gate where we see clouds advancing through the golden gate but some areas with clear skies to the east and northeast as well. 68 degrees in santa rosa. 76 at fairfield. livermore, 72 degrees. let me give you this view across the arrow. these are our forecast features. hazy and warm tomorrow. that is the beginning of the warm up. the summerlike eat will return this weekend through labor day. overnight, we will see the advance of some low clouds across the bay. overnight lows will be generally in the low to mid 50's and then highs tomorrow will range from m

the growing debate over proposed solutions, melanie woodrow has the story. elanie: jessica is one of the growing number of pet owners who adopted a pet during the pandemic. >> grew up loving a dogs, never had one. melanie: her dreams came true while working full-time. finding a veterinarian was more difficult. abc 7 news first told you about a nationwide that shortage earlier this month. advocates for change are speaking up. mark cushing is the founder of the animal -- group. >> we are at a crisis stage of the veterinary shortage which was coming. melanie: he is a proponent of telemedicine for pets. they tell maybe seven -- abc 7 news they support veterinarian health but it cannot be -- a relationship cannot be established solely by electronic means. he believes those with a new pet should get basic advice. >> the access to care issue is acute for those without a that. melanie: the associate dean at the school of veterinary medicine. >> i don't think telemedicine can work. melanie: he also disagrees with the other suggestions for unclogging the system -- incr

melanie woodrow has a look at how it works. , but when the pandemic hit, he was laid off. most of his clients were in tech and he had been curious how to break in. he isn't alone. when max moved to the bay area from israel, he also wanted to know, how do you land a job in tech? >> as an immigrant who came to the united states and was not sure what to do. melanie: after attending a boot camp, max started helping friends and family through the same. >> more and more people started approaching and asking me for help. melody: he and his co-founder created careerist to train people for tech jobs, sets them up with an internship, and helps them submit dozens of applications daily. >> you don't need to know computer science, you don't need a technical background. melanie: participants can pay $3000 upfront, or $900 upfront and 15% of their subsequent salary for two years. on occasion max says he charges nothing to students experiencing great hardship. he estimates students earn $65,000 to $100,000 a year. this student is now working at

reporter melanie woodrow has the story. nie: when jack's mom moved across the country, so that he. >> started looking for a vet in the neighborhood and a couldn't find a single event in the city that is taking on new animals, especially not one the size of my dog. melanie: lauren is experiencing the effects of the nationwide veterinarian shortage firsthand. this doctor is the president of the san francisco spca. she says the shortage of veterinarians and veterinarian nurses is not specific. >> to the bay area. >> we are not alone in this. melanie: she attributes the shortage for the number of matriculating in annually and the number retiring. and attrition is also one of the main factors. >> the average career lifespan for a veterinary nurse is only five years. melanie: the employees who are working cannot work at maximum capacity. >> it is a huge problem to resolve over the next few years. melanie: signs outside the san francisco spca's fillmore street location says the emergency powers are now outdated. emergency care is s

reporter melanie woodrow has the latest. nie: the medical examiner's office has identified the woman drugged and killed at the san francisco wall street bart station as 41-year-old amy adams of san francisco. >> it was automatic. melanie: he was on the platform witnessed adams' body being dragged. he says the victim was on the platform with a dog tethered to her waist. she boarded the train with her dog, but at the very last second as the doors were closing, she got off the train. she cleared the doors, but the dog did not. the train departed with the dog in the train, and she was dragged and pulled onto the track. the dog was not hurt. >> everybody was in shock. melanie: not ntsb investigators will spend a week investigating documenting the train and platform as well as looking at the functionality of the door system and operational procedures for directing passengers getting on and off the train. >> they will be gathering any types of sources of recorded data. these could be video surveillance. there can be recorded data at

reporter melanie woodrow has a story. melanie: with thanksgiving around the corner and one of the busiest times to fly, senator feinstein said, quote, "we can't allow air travel to contribute to another surge in covid cases. today i introduced legislation requiring passengers on flights to be vaccinated, or fully recovered from an illness. this is an expert. >> if it were to become law, it would be adding restrictions in the u.s. that exist elsewhere in the world and have been working pretty well. passengers may be a bit upset based on what we have seen in the past. melanie: it is not just travelers, united airlines says it is letting go of 600 employees chose not to comply with the vaccine requirement. >> they have to do what they can to protect not only themselves and their passengers, but their reputations too. >> i actually feel the most safe flying internationally. melanie: he and another traveler recently returned to the bay area. >> i emphasized with the flight attendants on board. she had enforced masks a dozen tim

reporter melanie woodrow is digging in to see how many of these crimes are being persecuted. ot far from where our great-grandmother was brutally attacked in visitation valley and later died, california attorney general and san francisco city leaders gathered. >> there is no room for hate here and not ever. melanie: it comes after chinatown night out in portsmouth square an event aimed at better connectin the community with the police department. mayor breed said suspects in attacks on asian americans have been caught. >> almost every single incident, those folks have been arrested, awaiting trial so they are behind bars, and we are hopeful they will be held accountable. melanie: today we asked police and prosecutors about the numbers -- just how many people have been arrested, and how many people are being charged? >> in 2021 we have had 83 reported hate crimes. let me say this, that doesn't tell the whole story. melanie: san francisco police chief scott says that is because not every hate crime is reported. he says 59% of those hate crimes were on people from the aapi commun

melanie woodrow has the story. melanie: as students return to the classroom, many are finding the need extra help after months of distance learning. a former teacher created a remote tutoring company pre-pandemic called paper. >> the product that we offer allows students to get access 24/7 to a live tutor who can help them with any of the homework they are working on. we do that by partnering directly with the district. melanie: it is entirely free for students and their families. school districts foot the bill. he says the company has had a surge of new clients since most districts have provided devices and hotspots for students. >> ultimately, that allowed them to make decisions that integrated technology into the curriculum and school district in ways they had not done before. melanie: it works with approximately a dozen bay area school districts including east side union high school district. the district began using paper as a pilot program last year. >> to be able to support them when they are doing their home

melanie woodrow has a look at how it works.rter: he had a career in construction sales and product management. but when the pandemic hit, he was laid off. >> they start cutting staff. reporter: most of his clients were in tech. for a while he had been curious about how to break in. >> how to get into it when this guy removed to the bay area from israel, he also wanted to know how to land a career in tech= i was not sure what to do after having a ba in business from israel. reporter: after attending a boot camp and breaking into the industry, he started helping friends and family do the same. >> after a while, more and more people started approaching and asking me for help. reporter: soon, he realized he had a business idea. he and his co-founder created careerist. they train individuals with no tech backgrounds for tech jobs and help them submit thousands of applications. >> you don't need computer science or programming languages, you don't need a technical background. reporter: participants have the option of paying $3000 one

melanie woodrow has the story. urn to the classroom, many are finding the need extra help after months of distance learning. a former teacher created a remote tutoring company pre-pandemic called paper. >> the product that we offer allows students to get access 24/7 to a live tutor who can help them with any of the homework they are working on. we do that by partnering directly with the district. melanie: it is entirely free for students and their families. school districts foot the bill. he says the company has had a surge of new clients since most districts have provided devices and hotspots for students. >> ultimately, that allowed them to make decisions that integrated technology into the curriculum and school district in ways they had not done before. melanie: it works with approximately a dozen bay area school districts including east side union high school district. the district began using paper as a pilot program last year. >> to be able to support them when they are doing their homework at home on the week

are sparked eventually burned more than 56,000 acres abc 7 news reporter melanie woodrow has the storynse. let's be clear. my co-workers are no co-workers pg. ceo responding to new criminal charges filed against the utility company today shasta county's district attorney announced 31 criminal charges against pg&e including involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the zog fire. we have sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the pacific gas and electric company is criminally liable for their reckless ignition of the zog fire and the deaths and destruction that it caused for people. including an eight-year-old girl, the da said pg&e has a duty to mitigate fire ris. by removing hazardous trees from around the electrical lines. this is a picture of the tree that fell on a pg&e line causing the zog fire. pg&e contractors had marked this tree as hazardous for removal and 2018, but it was never removed. pg&e ceo said the company accepted cal fires determination of the fire's cause but we did not commit a crime. she says the decision to not remove the tree was a

as abc 7 news reported melanie woodrow explains, the program is not without controversy. >> the san franciscoream keeper fellowship is expected to launch in october and will pay at -- 10 at risk for violence participants $300 a month to act as public safety ambassadors. if they reach milestones they will be eligible for as much as $500 a month. the rector for the san francisco human rights commission -- director for the san francisco human rights commission, >> they are encouraged to dupe goalsetting for themselves, to think about how they can influence and impact communities to be better. >> davis says the program will be funded by taxpayer dollars, private funding and a federal grant. it was inspired by the office of neighborhood safety, a program developed by him. >> the office of neighborhood safety was created to interrupt, reduce, stop shootings. >> we have asked him to help think through how we build this out. >> the executive director for the national institute for criminal justice reform says operation peacemaker fellowship, a program of the richmond office of neighborhood safety, wa

. >> in francis -- in san francisco, melanie woodrow. >> san francisco unified said 96% of staff who reported their vaccination status by the deadline are fully vaccinated. that is 8919 to be exact of txat nearly 10,000 employees. 280 said they are not vaccinated , 23 had appointments to be vaccinated and 66 are partially vaccinated. staff are required to be fully vaccinated by september 7 or get tested at least once a week. >> coming up, a violent august in oakland. what the police chief said about how to stop this crime. >> plus, it worker protest outside a ceo home. this unplugged device is protecting our beautiful coastlines and more. put off chores and use less energy from 4 to 9 pm to help keep our state golden. ♪ ♪ have you seen those small bowl---? oh! careful with the... (dishes break) sorry, mrs. c! excuse me, could we-- ♪ ♪ excuse me, i was wondering could we-- ? bedroom! finding the right person for the job isn't always easy... ...but when you have an insurance question, you can always count on your local geico agent. they can give you personalized advice and could help y

in san francisco, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news.: let's take you to the south bay where the community is celebrating the return of beavers to los gatos creek. and wildlife camera set up by the pup -- by the south bay queen creek's coalition shows two beavers and action, working as they do to build a dam. the coalition says beavers have been scarce for nearly 140 years. the fact that they are returning now is a sign the waterway is healthy. >> the community has rallied around our creeks, and we are coming up on close to one million pounds of trash removed. this is something the community has said, this is important to us. these are the results of all of that hard work. dan: volunteers spotted the beavers after they completed this mural near los gatos creek as part of a beautification project. ama: let's take a live look outside. . it has been a warm start to the week. ant -- sandia that's a good taco. dude. it's a sandwich. [beep beep] it's a sandwich! it's a taco! ugh, not another taco guy. the new crispy chicken sandwich taco from

abc7 news reporter "melrose place" -- melanie woodrow.orter: san francisco public safety officials say they discovered a problem with the 911 system and other city services. >> this is the situation that we planned for. reporter: the executive director of the san francisco depar manae outage was internal to the city. and not a utility power outage. >> we negotiated our protocols for when power goes -- initiated our protocols for when power goes out and 911 went into manual mode with limited capacity through the duration of this outage which was through about 10:15 a.m. this morning. reporter: officials say 911 calls were forwarded to other devices. calls that came this were also tracked and were being returned by staff. san francisco fire chief jeanine nicholson. >> the city came together as a city family, as a team. reporter: san francisco police chief william scott says the city has experienced outages like this before. >> what we want to assure the public is when these outages and things of this nature happen, that we still will be the

melanie woodrow has the story. melanie: a drive along the hunters point expressway reveals hundreds of rvs. a closer look reveals trash, human waste and needles. in addition to being unsightly, much of this is a fire hazard. >> we are not -- something has to be done. melanie: shirley says says sayss opposed to a triage center. it would provide spaces front house people living in rvs and cars. >> all we want is equity in the community. we feel sorry for the people who are on housed but we need to spread the housed and people who are disenfranchised throughout the city. melanie: the san francisco supervisor says the vehicle triage center would addressed residents growing concerns -- would address resident growing concerns. >> 24 hours restroom service melanie: as for putting it somewhere else. >> i can't tell you what is happening in other areas, and terms of why we wouldn't put this there but i can tell you that these people who are living in vehicles right now are already here. melanie: residents opposed say it thre

melanie woodrow is on the story. >> a driver along candlestick state park reveals hundreds of rvs.ser look reveals trash, human waste and needles. residents say in addition to being unsightly, much of this is a fire hazard. >> something has to be done. >> the vice president surely more as she has against a proposed vehicle triage center. the proposed plan would provide spaces for un-housed people living in rvs and cars. >> all we want is equity in the community. we feel sorry for the people who are unhoused but we need to spread the unhoused and the people who are disenfranchised throughout the city. >> the vehicle triage center would address residents's growing concerns. >> when per hour security, restrooms, they will be able to receive -- 24 hour security, restrooms, they will be able to receive wraparound services. >> i can tell you that these people who are living in vehicles right now are already here. >> residents opposed say it threatens to further marginalize a community already subject to tenuous economic conditions. >> it is clear that the city policies are to move this p

in san francisco, melanie woodrow. ama: an extremely rough day for investors on wall street.tate'' debt limit and the impact of the default of a chinese real estate firm sent financial markets tumbling. the dow dropped nearly 600 points, posting its worst finish since july. at one point, the dow was down nearly 1000 points before rebounding. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 dropped 2% and one point 7% respectively. dan: i warning about a growing bank scam that uses the popular zelle money transfer app. they pretend to be bank officers stopping fraud, when actually they are draining your account. it happened to a school nurse in san mateo county, who is helping get kids safely back to school. she came to our team to get help. >> couple weeks ago. i first reported on this when a san francisco man was tricked into giving way half's bank account. reports of the scammer popping up across the country and right, here in the bay area, a busy school nurse got a call that was not really from her bank. >> with the pandemic and children coming back to school, it is crazy. >> life was hectic en

melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >> 57% of everyone in california is fully vaccinated.e people are not old enough. vaccine rates in the bay area are outpacing the state. we have an entire vaccine team that hit -- vaccine team dedicated to getting you the latest information. to ask them questions, go to abc 7 news.com/vaccine and click on that box you see right there. >> still to come, crisis averted. michael finney explains why we are not seeing a wave of foreclosures like many people fear. >> and an update on the recovery my daughter has type 2 diabetes. but this change i see in her... starting trulicity...making healthier choices... i just hope she knows ...how proud i am. once-weekly trulicity helps control... ...your a1c. it lowers blood sugar from the first dose... ...and seeing the impact of just one change... ...can motivate you to make more of them. plus trulicity works 24/7... ...to help your body release the insulin it's already making. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it isn t for people with type 1 diabetes. it s not approved for use in children. don t take

melanie woodrow has the story. >> when jack jack's mom moved across the country, so that he. >> he startedhe neighborhood and couldn't find a single vet in the city, especially not when the size of my dog. >> lauren's experience the effects of a nationwide veterinarian shortage firsthand. dr. jennifer scarlett is president of the san francisco spca. >> i'm really worried. >> she says the shortage of veterinarians is not specific to the spca, or even to the bay area. she attributes the shortage to the number matriculated in annually versus the number retiring and says attrition is also one of the main factors for the shortage. >> the average career lifespan of a veterinary nurses only five years. >> add covid into the mix and now the employees who are working at can't work at maximum capacity. >> is a huge problem for us to try to resolve. >> signs that they 24 hour emergency are now outdated. dr. scarlett set the location is suspending overnight emergency care after 8:00 p.m. during the week end suspending emergency care on the weekends. the campus will still be open seven days a week. >>

melanie woodrow has more on why this variant is a concern and whether we might see it here.he variant identified in south african is raising eyebrows because it is highly mutated. >> it has mutations in the sites that make it replicate more rapidly and it has some other changes that may make it a little bit more difficult for antibodies to see and find. reporter: that's a professor of epidemiology at ucsf. he says it's not outcompeted the delta variant. >> there are only relative small numbers and it doesn't seem to have spread much more beyond a handful of cases. reporter: as for whether the variant might be more dangerous for anyone not vaccinated, he says time will tell. >> this is all about maybe. we just don't know. it's too early to call. if you are going to south africa, make sure you are fully vaccinated. reporter: could we see it here in the u.s.? >> anything is possible. i suspect it will be outcompeted by the delta variant, and it will not establish itself very broadly. reporter: another new variant being watched closely. kristen: if the pandemic has brought one p