maybe more attractive than the loch ness monster.eighth sighting in five years of this mysterious sea creature. in the u.k., a couple took this picture. >> they said it looked like a giant snake. >> yes. clearly is not. but what is it? the mystery continues, along with the mysterious music. >> we'll be investigating all morning. >>> good morning, america. i'm bianna golodryga. >> and i'm dan harris. this is saturday, february 19th. >>> also coming up this morning, our weekly window into your world. with video from you and music from darius rucker. it's "your week in three words." you'll want to stick around for that. >>> we're going to begin with high drama on the high seas. somali pirates have hijacked an american yacht and have taken the four people onboard hostage. our jeremy hubbard is here with the latest on this story. jeremy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dan. the boat is owned by a retired california couple who have been sailing around the world for the last seven years, distributing bibles to churches and schools

what is the van ness potential? it does not show their what was achieved, what is remaining, so forth. we need to update that planned to them eliminate the parking requirement that has been talked about. flexibility and the number of units, 1.6 policy is excellent for densely built neighborhoods. if you were to look at the rm-3 it is possible in some cases if you replace a building within the height limit you would have fewer units that are larger based on our past experience. that may still be the case even with the 65 foot height limit. is also cite efficient and cost- effective not to have the 1-for- 1 parking requirement. it keeps the densely built. liveable not to have that parking. discouraging demolition it is really important. we have had a huge progress on this back in the day, when we had no demolition controls and everything was threatened, but now we have to be concerned about enforcement of the policies against conversion to commercial and short-term rentals, which is still rampant. we have lost whole b

at the van ness project would add dedicated bus lines to van ness avenue between mission and lombard street. it giving us his priority on the 2 mi. stretch. the san jose project is also included in the proposal. that money would help clear the way for the $2.3 billion bart extension which could begin construction in 2012. on this map you see were the extension will go. the bart station in fremont along the union pacific railroad of north san jose. christine conley, kron 4 news. >>jacqueline: were going to see plenty of rain, heavy rain tonight into tomorrow. will talk about a coming up in just a few minutes. >>jacqueline: cloudy skies, we've been seeing them through the day. the rain hasn't moved in but it is starting in the north bay. we see areas of more moderate rainfall near san rafael and santa rosa. the storm is finally starting to push down to the south. santa rosa, not seeing heavy rain in the city but just around. this will pale in comparison to what was the over night. on future cast, we are seeing the band of heavy rain pushing through the north bay. a p.m. widespread heav

the van ness project would add dedicated bus lines to van ness avenue between mission and lombard street. that money would help clear the way for the $2.3 billion bart extension which could begin construction in 2012. on this map, you can see where the extension will go. the bart station in fremont along the union pacific railroad in north san jose. news. today the central subway issue came up before the transportation authority board. people on both sides spoke out. >> we feel that much of state and local money, which is already currently allocated locally can be better served to transform the system city-wide rather than 1.7 mi. of the system. >> 82 percent of households in chinatown don't own cars. the transit to get to their doctors appointments, work, see their family, do groceries. they need reliable on-time efficient transit. >>pam: the board approved the project which was one more fertile but it had to overcome. in another sign of the times. newsweek is out with a list of the top 10 u.s. cities that it says are dying cities. at the top of the list new arlen's which lost nearly 27

you may want to take franklin or van ness to avoid that accident.lso a wind advisory for the venetian bridge so both hands on the wheel. elsewhere showing you a live camera shot, flowing pretty well on the freeway this morning. the usual delays out of antioch but that's southbound traffic there on 680 through walnut creek. eric, kristen. >> frances, thanks a lot. it's now 6:09. >> just ahead, the mailbox as a ballot box. why california's next election could be by mail only. that could be an advantage those who want to extend several state taxes. >> muni bus on the move but nobody behind the wheel? the accident has tied up traffic in san francisco. >> a violent turn of events in egypt as pro-egyptian president hosni mubarak are now clashing >>> welcome back. it's jenelle wang live in the news room. you are looking at live pictures from downtown cairo. things have turned violent and bloody in egypt, even after egyptian president hosni mubarak said he would step down after 30 years in power. for the first time pro-mubarak supporters have showed up in t

. >> could you let me know when we get to van ness and sacramento? >> i sure will. >> i have had a number of drivers be really helpful in terms of getting passengers to move down a few seats so i can sit in the front. >> can somebody give this lady a seat? >> the bus driver was say, "please wait a moment. i want to make sure you have a seat." and i hear him or her announced that he needs a seat for a person with a disability. >> as soon as the person gets on the bus, i ask the passengers if we can have a seat for this person. >> anybody help us? thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> sides, federal law requires that the customers give their seats to the elderly and disabled if they should need it. >> buses should stop in zones that can accommodate multiple lines will stop behind one another. i cannot see what bus is behind -- i'm not even sure if there is a bus behind. the second bus does not come up to the front. oftentimes, it has caused me to be passed up by bosses, by trains, and again, it makes me late for appointments. it makes me late for my job. >>

concerns a subject related to a resolution we are considering around janitorial staff that one-celled van ness. the custodians of lost jobs because the city brought a new contractor. many of us are working to make this unfortunate situation better. i have been working with stakeholders to take a close ally as some of our policies related to cantorial and other service workers. ms. includes help the security, the worker security act. i look forward to working with you and others to make sure that our lowest-paid workers have the projections and the plane feel they deserve. >> today, i am introducing legislation that would legalize a temporary below market rental of payments for those said it is chris can -- that have been displaced by disasters. this is an amendment to the administrative code. i've been working closely with the tenants union and other groups. late last week, we had a series of -- resulting in this place and of a number of tenants. nor looking to find affordable or has is for these people. i would like to think the department association for stepping up and helping him. we could

>>catherine: van ness avenue and maureen kelly was in marin county she says the what rowhat role wet roads. >> loci, with these wet roads. >>reporter: and now you can see that this car was completely submerged. the driver was it the italian sports car. it was driving your north bound on how we 1 0 1. 10:30 a the driver lost control and this morning and slid into the water. and the driver was able to get out. hospitalized with only minor injuries. the c h p says that he was going too fast for the wet and slippery conditions. in marin county, marin county, maureen kelly. robert. and re >>catherine: 5 right aide and a subway shop. haazig madyun the surveillance video of a serial robber. this right aide in fremont. investigators say that a few days later the same where up a subway sandwich shop on this street. and a suspect matching his description is wanted for five different robberies of drugstores and subway shops. one case is alleged to pistol whipped employee. his technique seems to be the same. african-american male, mid- 20s, 5 ft. inches tall, a skinny building and wearing a red

. >> so i could complain about van ness ave, because that is under your jurisdiction? i can come to your director and complain? >> you are welcome to come to me and complain. >> i have never seen this happen before. thank you, sir. >> next speaker please. >> sorry, my reading abilities. >> good afternoon, commissioners. the last time i had the pleasure of seeing you was in my territory, and it was a great today when you pass the environmental justice legislation, so thank you for that. after looking through the budget document that was on line, i noticed in the budget proposal -- >> please continue. >> there was a change in the structure of the real-estate department, and as a community member and a tenant of the southeast greenhouses, i was a bit concerned. i do not pretend to know the difference between one manager and another, but it seemed implied there were going to be some personnel changes, and in the 10 men if i have -- the 10 years i have been working with your department, i have not experienced any of the troubles i've just heard happened, and looking at the

it crashed into a light pole on van ness avenue yesterday.e driver and mechanic were working on the bus when it suddenly began rolling. the bus's parking brake had not been set. nobody was hurt in the crash but it did back up traffic for miles along van ness. >> a gang unit is investigating a rash of gang-related graffiti in a quiet neighborhood. they increased patrols in the park area of san mateo after vandals targeted home south delaware street late friday night. they hit walls, garage doors. it's unusual to see gang activity in this area. >> a variety of ways to help balance the budget including reclaiming redevelopment funds of cities across the state that haven't put that money to use. the city's effort to keep the oakland a's in town. allen wong reports. >> the race is on to spend millions of dollars in redevelopment money before governor jerry brown can take it away. the governor wants to withhold $1.7 billion redevelopment dollars to balance the state budget. for oakland that's a loss of $52 million. money that's used to leverage bon

there is another thing to consider when you are buying and building to the east of the van ness ave. a third map. this map depicts the area of the fire that followed the 1906 earthquake. the blue is where all the buildings were destroyed or badly damaged by the fire. as a result, the ashes from those fires remained on site. in those days, lead paint was used to paint the sides of buildings. it is a known carcinogen. it is a hazardous material. what they did was after the earthquake, they took these mounds of sand, the valencia st. hill, if you go up market street, you know how it starts to climb? imagine that was a much larger hill. they mined 26 million cubic yards of sand out of theire, and they mixed it with the debris from the fire and they used it to fill basements. so you have sand, ash, pieces of wood, brick. well, the ash is a hazardous material. you come along and used to buy a site at sixth and mission, with the understanding you will demolish the building and build a 50 story building. and you thought you were just going to dig out the sand, the film, and haul it to anothe

[applause] >> item 25, a reinstatement of janitors who worked at one at south -- at 1 south van ness avenuse, represented by local 87. >> we have tweaked the language to tighten it up. i sent a copy of the revised resolution. i want to thank supervisors avalos and cohen for joining me, supervisor kim, and president chu. president chiu: supervisor weiner has made a motion, seconded by supervisor mirkarimi. supervisor mirkarimi: i want to thank supervisor weiner for his leadership on this. i want to be added as a co- sponsoring. supervisor campos: i also would like to be added as a co- sponsor. thank you for introducing this item. supervisor avalos: i also want to thank supervisor weiner. this was the janitor's union i had worked for in the past. because i had worked for the same membership but a different leadership, i was still holding got a chance i could have a relationship with the leadership of local 87. i firmly believe in the mission of the union to support the janitors. i thank you for doing this resolution. supervisor kim: i also want to thank supervisor weiner for bringing t

you remember its original home on van ness.ow you are part of that transition to the center, the civic center, and of course your museum has been really the anchor of cultural tenants that has helped us transform this area of the city. >> to my mind, it is wonderful to be part of such a rich cultural community. when visitors come to this area, that have so many different options. >> let's talk about the anniversary show, which will be a phenomenal opportunity for san franciscans and all visitors of the city to get a real sense of how the city has grown and the importance of culture. >> we focus on moments where it was involved in pushing the dialogue about contemporary art forward. the jackson pollock exhibition in 1945 is a perfect example of that. our founding director was deeply interested in abstraction and was engaged in dialogue with the guggenheim about bringing the jackson pollack showed to the west coast. the original price for the painting, $750. are directors thought that was too much of a stretch before the board of

ness an opportunity to come together -- this is an opportunity to come together, to roll up our sleeves and go to work on the significant challenges we all face. for the benefit of all san franciscans. i hope to move us past the labels that have pigeonholed us at city hall or at least to not be bound by them. because if you're a so-called moderate, then i'm a moderate. i've spent the past two decades trying to make this city work, to work for all of us. for its entire history, people have flocked to san francisco with their hopes and with their dreams. they've invested in this city, not only with their money but with their sweat and with their blood. i understand that not only do people need to flourish here, but business needs to flourish here. i understand what is at stake. what is invested here in all senses of that word. it's our responsibility to see that this investment isn't squandered. but with all due respect to the talent of many leaders with whom i share this responsibility, i was a progressive before progressive was a political faction in this town. [applause] years ago, yea

three or four months ago, somebody moved to around the corner of hayes and van ness. there is an entrance there. 90% of the people come out of this entrance. 10%, out of the other one. anybody that wants to go to will call as to what they bought from the cab stand. if they are a senior citizen, they can take the elevator. nobody talked to her about doing it. this is another picture. these guys are sitting there. they are trying to solicit rides to the limo. those guys have been blocking traffic for a solid hour. the symphony is not like the opera. it is not a society event. people do not take limos. >> christopher is the last person who has turned in a speaker car. >> good afternoon. i would like to protest the structure of the review process. the means by which the taxi industry and the way it has been attempted or not so well attempted to be fit into the miscible transit authority. there is not currently an actual forum. drivers can come to this meeting. this is highly burdened with other sorts of work. the taxi advisory committee as the only forum. its mandate is t

not believe, and the commissioners can certainly ask what their intentions are, and, lastly, at van ness, where it was problematic for some time, this is also one of those where this commission has ordered a new set of conditions placed on their permit in december, and then, an appeal was filed with the board of appeals, and in the meantime of these actions, the appellant requested a continuance to allow for the transfer to a new owner. the city in all of its forms was anxious to actually see a new owner at this location, so at this time, a liquor license transfer has had their conditions signs. a new application for a place of entertainment was submitted and posted for your march 8 hearing. staff met with two concerned neighbors about two weeks ago and agreed to be present for a meeting at the venue before the hearing date to address additional neighbors' concerns, so i think those are two good outcomes too problematic venues, and that concludes my report. mr. granelli, are you awake? >> commissioners, very quickly. to go through the binders, polk street was issued in notice for violati

ness an opportunity to come together -- this is an opportunity to come together, to roll up our sleeves and go to work on the significant challenges we all face. for the benefit of all san franciscans. i hope to move us past the labels that have pigeonholed us at city hall or at least to not be bound by them. because if you're a so-called moderate, then i'm a moderate. i've spent the past two decades trying to make this city work, to work for all of us. for its entire history, people have flocked to san francisco with their hopes and with their dreams. they've invested in this city, not only with their money but with their sweat and with their blood.

there is also new retail spaces at 77 van ness. these new developments constitute almost a 3% increase and commercial space area, which more or less reflexed city-wide increase in commercial space. the pipeline. the commercial space pipeline and market octavia showed a slight uptick in space, constituting a small portion, about 1%, of the commercial development pipeline city-wide. retail space will make up over half of the new commercial space in market octavia, followed by office space. it is part of a new residential care facility also. one-third of the pipeline is under construction or has received funding and should be completed in the next two, three years, and the remaining two- thirds are still under review. the monitoring mandate also requires an accounting of employment in the market octavia area plan. as of the second quarter of 2009, there were about 16,500 jobs in the area, representing about 3% citywide employment. of these jobs, over half were in office, another was and retail. based on the commercial development pipe

people say that i cannot wait 20 minutes to get from 16th minutes -- 60 minutes down to south van ness.

department for their fantastic job, especially during the time when we had the famous fire at 135 van ness. i think the staff for the wonderful job they do. they support everyone who works for the school district. i also want to thank joe for his continuous support. thank you. [applause] >> could we have the staff come up so you can present this to everyone? [applause] >> nice meeting you. >> nice to meet you. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> on their behalf, here you go. can we have a round of applause? if you are an employee, please stand. [applause] >> thank you all. item d is our student delegates report. elvina fan? >> so far, we have been continuing on summit planning. we are trying to get community- based organizations to have workshops that would help future student leaders to be better prepared for teachers, especially with the budget being so bad. we have stood indelicate applications -- we have a student delicate applications for anyone who would like -- we have student delegate applications for anyone who would like to sit here next year. a former youth commissioner came by