rob roth is live in walnut creek tonight with our report. rob in. >> reporter: frank, the protest and counterprotests have ended. the sidewalks were packed with demonstrators for much of the tv 1 afternoon in a day that was peaceful. more than a hundred people gathered in the courthouse million to show -- parking lot to show for the for johannes mehserle. they were matched in numbers by those for oscar grant. >> we don't want the police in our community. you all have should go home! >> reporter: both sides wanted to get -- wanted to make a point. >> the officer, the heat of the moment, who knows what police officers go through, the heat of the moment, he just -- it just happened so fast, he accidentally grabbed the wrong thing. >> the rally, so soon after oscar's murder and the verdict, it's a slap in the face. >> reporter: some businesses in the area closed early today including the buttercup restaurant which shut down after breakfast. >> i'm nervous about what's gonna happen. so i think the safest thing was -- since we didn't have any busin

a judge says he'll decide july 30th to decide on an injunction >>> and rob roth joins us now live with more details. >> reporter: officials in contra costa county are so concerned with the spread of whooping cough that right now they are offering free vaccinations here at the farmer's market. so far about 200 residents have taken advantage here in downtown concord's santos park. people willingly waited in line to get the vaccination. that's how important it was for them. >> i have a three month grand baby and i watch her. so i decided it was more important for me and she got one about a month ago. >> reporter: did it hurt? >> no. >> reporter: 62 cases of whopping cough have been reported so far in contra costa county. that's more than triple the number of cases from last year. health fishes officials say this could be the worse year for whooping cough. >> we're trying to get everyone who has contact with a baby involved. >> reporter: the vaccine is recommended for anyone six years of age or older. whooping cough is a dreaded disease for children or infants. six babies have diet of whoo

rob roth is in oakland now with the latest, rob. >> reporter: julie, police say their talking to relatives and neighbors of the victim but that they have little to go on in this morning's shooting. as police search for evidence, those who knew 53-year-old mariano say they are dumbfounded anyone would want to shoot him. >> very sad, very sad. i'm like unexpected. like he doesn't get associated with everybody here. even me, he's a very nice guy. i'm amazed of what happened. >> reporter: it happened at about 1:30 this morning. >> i was getting ready for bed, all i heard is a gunshot then yelling afterwards. i was a little nervous to come outside. i didn't know who was out, i came out and i seen him laying down. >> reporter: chris mariano was just getting off work at kaiser hospital where he's been a custodian for 20 years. police say he doesn't appear to be the victim of a robbery and do not know why he was shot to death. >> you have a person killed and we need the citizens to help us out. >> he's here when we need something in the house, like guys jobs, he always helps me. >> reporter: maria

rob roth has more. >> reporter: now, backyard grape growers are being asked to fine in on the fight. dave does not make wine from the grapes he grows in his backyard. he and his family usually eat them. >> when the egg hatches, the larva goes directly inside -- >> reporter: this week, he plans to mail postcards to napa residents urning them to treat their home grown grapes with a pesticide and get rid of them. >> by removing them we eliminate the source for another infestation. >> reporter: wine growers are concerned about the devastation it do wreak on the life blood of napa. some don't mind getting rid of their grapes. >> one puny little merlot. i'll doing my bit. >> sometimes i think that could be -- that can be just an overreaction to them. maybe they need to get unless out to the public first. >> trap have been set but there have been no infestations here. they say the number of trapped moths have declined over the past few months. we were surprised to find it last year but i would say that the trapped counts that we're seeing now show we're making great progress. agricultural f

rob roth is live with that part of the story. >> reporter: we're in the foothill boulevard overpass,this is where dozens of people are expected to rally in support of arizona immigration bill. if you have already arrived, the rally is organized by members of the tea party. people here are carrying signs mainly for the evening commute. >> every time you wand to load around, it goes forward and back. >> reporter: collins has owned this gun store since 2008. he says he likes the immigration law because he says the federal government isn't doing nearly enough to secure the border. >> if the federal government won't step up, then arizona should step up and protect its borders. we hear problems about illegal immigrants coming in and destroying property. >> reporter: down the road, limos a barber for the past 50 years he says he sees nothing wrong in arizona's attempt to have everyone to carry documents. >>> a recent poll shows a majority of people favor arizona's law. among the supporters, is rick brocade. >> being a minority myself, i back the immigration law. >> it's not working, we need

rob roth is live now in oakland with more on the search for the killer and the motive, rob. >> reporter: police today are asking the public for help in finding the person who shot to death a man who spent 20 years in the navy and who was just getting home from work. neighbors say it happened just after 1:30 this morning, cristori mariono had just got off work and returning home, he was just stepping from his apartment. >> i was taking a shower and i heard the gunshot. i wasn't really tripping about it at first because it's pretty normal in the area. and all of a sudden, i heard him banging on the gate, screaming for help. >> reporter: mariano died near his doorstep. police say they have no suspects, mariano's wallet and keys were on him. >> right now we don't have any indication that it is a robbery, we still do not know the motive. >> reporter: chris mariano worked as a custodian at kaiser hospital. he sent most of his paycheck to his wife and daughter in the philippines. mariano spent 20 years in the u.s. navy and served in the persian war before retiring from the service. >> he's a v

rob roth, ktvu news. >>> the man convicted of tampering with san francisco's computer system appeared in court today for a sentencing hearing. terry child was found guilty back in april of with holding passwords of the computer system back in 2008. but today the judge denied the defenses request for a new trial and suspension of the conviction. the judge said there wasn't enough time to hear arguments for both sides for sentencing, so the hearing was continued to next week. the prosecution is seeking a five year prison sentence and more than $1 million in restitution for the money the city spent on testing network security. >>> california senator barbara boxer brought her campaign for reelection to the south bay today where she visited a job training center. boxer toured the center for employment center meeting with students and faculty. the senator says the federal economic federal act has allowed programs like this one to expand during these tough times. she called the center an amazing place that has helped people in the silican valley train for and find jobs. >> so i'm here to tel

rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news the. >>> we have breaking news right now. two-alarm fire that's burning in daly city. these are pictures from newschopper2. we don't know a whole lot. we know the fire was burning at 159 santa cruz avenue in daly city. that's just a couple of blocks from interstate 280 in daly city. as you can see, firefighters there on the roof, it looks like there's some substantial damage as a result of this fire and it looks like santa cruz avenue right now is shut down because of all of the fire apparatus that is on the scene. we're working to get more information. if we do get more, we'll bring it to you. again, right now, a fire burning at a house on 159 santa cruz avenue, not far from interstate 280 in daly city. >>> there's been a new take today on the recession. we'll have that coming up. the new information shows -- shows about recovery or not. what this droid does will change how you do movies. with blockbuster on demand, this does hit films on a 4.3-inch screen so big, the way you see them will never be the same. introducing the

. >> reporter: reporting live in oakland, rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and in about an hour, community organizers will hold a meeting which is open to the public to discuss whether to hold more rallies. the oakland general assembly for justice for oscar grant is hosting that meeting which starts at 7:00 p.m. tonight at the continental club in oakland. >>> to see all of those looting photos released bid police, just go to ktvu.com. >>> a 17-year-old turns himself in to clayton police today in connection with a string of street robberies. the teens surrendered just before noon. investigators say he's one of three suspects that are all members of the clayton high school football team. the teens are accused of stealing ipods and cell phones from other students walking down the street. >>> a state senate committee approved a bill to keep autopsy sealed. the bill would let family members request that autopsies be sealed if their children were killed during a crime. >>> a driver in the east bay today came across something to disturbing while passing a ranch near tracy, it prompted a quick cal

reporting live in san francisco, rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> dozens of people packed a san joseourtroom to support an anti-communist activist charged with assaulting a singer from vietnam. tong sprays charges for -- tong faces charges for spraying a singer. tong is an activist in the vietnamese community and dressed up as an old woman to sneak in the contest. he returns to court on friday. he's out on $100,000 bail. he is seeking to have his bail reduced. >>> police are looking for whoever is responsible for a string of vandalism along mcdonald and san pablo avenues between 11:45 last night and sunrise today. police have a general description of a man who broke a window at a chevron station. >>> america's financial institutions are scrambling to address a concept of new regulation. many of which are still not clearly defined. president obama signed the most sweeing reform law since the great are depression. it puts new fees and limits on the nation's banks and poses restriction on derivatives to oversee mortgages and credit cards. >>> a mortgage tracking company says default not

and right now ktvu's rob roth is inside an alameda county superior courtroom. he is listening to a judge and court hearing proceedings and he'll have a report for you later on tonight. reporting live from oakland, jade hernandez. >>> in southern california about 700 firefighters right now battling a fast moving fire with an aggressive attack from both the air and the ground. the crown fire is near the center of palmdale. right now it is just 75% contained. fire fighters are putting their efforts to power lines. the fire has consumed about 8,000 acres and it's already destroyed four homes. the flames broke out yesterday and propertied the evacuation of about 2,000 homes, most residents have since though been allowed to return home. >>> a los angeles fire official now says a second man has died from a natural gas explosion that splintered and industrial building. it happened around 6:00 this morning at a welding business that now looks like a pile of match sticks. the second fatality occurred when a man tried to move his truck away from the wreckage and was elect

rob roth has more on this. >> reporter: for many oakland city leaders, the campaign to convince voters to raise their property taxes in order to save police officers is about to begin in what many believe will be an uphill fight. herrano has owned this two bedroom home for the past three years. she works two jobs and she says she hasn't decided yet if she will support a measure asking her to pay another $360 in property taxes. the money would go to rehire the recently laid off 80 police officers. >> it's difficult, but i truly support oakland police officers. >> reporter: in working class laurel village, some residents say extra protection is worth $1 a day more. >> there's a lot of violence in oakland that needs to be kept in check. i would vote for it. >> reporter: but many others said no way. >> i'm no progouging the people. we've been getting gouged every which way. >> reporter: oakland leaders held a meting today to talk about what's at stake for residents. they are being asked to amend measure y which will allow the city to keep officers on the job. >> if the measure m, the parce

rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> here is a live look from newschopper2 over the scene. we're seeing about 50 to 75 people who have gathered, both those for and against the former police officer. as rob just mentioned, this protest was supposed to end or scheduled to end at 5:00. they are still out there. so far it's been peaceful. we'll continue to monitor this situation and cover it throughout the newscast. >> now to the gun battle that shut down interstate 580 in oakland for hours. we're learning new information about the man who police say started all of the shooting, including his criminal history and the years he spent behind bars. allie rasmus is live in oakland with our report. >> reporter: well, frank even though this shooting happened right in the middle of the 580. it's oakland police and the fbi venting. the fbi is involved because as we've learned the suspect has an extensive criminal history. [ sound of gunfire ] >> reporter: the 45-year-old man who engaged chp officers in a gun fight on this portion of 580 have a 20-year criminal history, that spans two st

rob roth is live with our report. >> reporter: frank, police officials say with the department now down by 80 officers beginning today, nonemergency calls are getting lower priority. patrol cars still rolled through the streets of oakland today but for officers this is a difficult day. >> you know, a lot of long faces. there's no one smiling. >> reporter: here at the acorn housing project in west oakland, they weren't smiling either. this neighbor has been plagued by gunfire and killing, including a shooting last month that left a teenage girl dead and five others injured. some folks say it's been hard enough here even before the layoffs. >> as dangerous as these streets are now with people carrying gun, shootings, we need more police officers, not less. and the streets are going to get worse. >> reporter: next door a child development center for low income children. people worry who a scaled-back police force will mean. >> when violence erupts so spontaneously, we really need to have a presence. and how can we have a presence throughout this city if 80 officers go away? >> reporter: ot