here's nbc bay area's robert honda. these are illegal fireworks being set off this year in east san jose. around 4th of july. and the neighborhood association that shot these images says it's typical of what they've been seeing and hearing as the new year approaches. a woman who started a group to stop illegal fireworks says it's terrifying. the big m-80s and m1 thousand oaks that go off our windows are rattling. there's no way we can not feel that. we feel it in our bodies. the impact because i think it's like a half a stick of dynamite worth. and, you know, so people are basically shooting bombs and it's everywhere. we've already seen what can happen even with illegal fireworks in october. a south bay teenager was burned badly when her clothes caught on fire from sparklers. it's up and down. some years are bad, some years aren't as bad, but it just takes one errant spark from a from an aerial firework to set a house on fire or a t tree on fie and create a catastrophe for somebody. and we've come close in my immediate

robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you very much, robert. well, he's making another run for it. lauren taylor officially launched his campaign for oakland mayor today. taylor ran against now recalled mayor sheng thao back in 2022, tao won by less than 700 votes. taylor is an oakland native, a businessman and a former city council member. he officially filed papers at city hall earlier today. he says he's hoping to leave the past election behind him and move oakland forward. i don't like to dwell on the past. the past election is over. we are now running a different race in a different context. but if e having the tough decisions as opposed to ignoring them. taylor is running against former congresswoman barbara lee, though she represented oakland for nearly 30 years. several other candidates have filed paperwork to run or have expressed interest in running. however, the deadline for candidates to enter the race is tomorrow. we have some updates now from the fire lines down in southern california. there is more progress and more video. we hav

nbc bay area's robert honda joins us frorom the santa cruz mountains. and, robert, you've got more on this. boulder creek is still recovering from the ccu fire of 2020, and it is one of the communities that the organization, after the fire came in to help after the fire says the fire here had many similarities to touthern california fires. and as people here will tell you, many of the same needs as they try to recover. burdick bly is still repairing his own property, damage from the ccu fire and helping his neighbors. they were all victims of the 2020 ccu lightning complex fire that burned up more than 86,000 acres and destroyed over 900 homes. bly, who runs a fire mitigation company, conscious clearing, is also headed to l.a. to help family members there. it's going to beeople stepping in and helping and trying to keep things as affordable, and they're going to need labor help. and so i i'm really deep and saddened, and i pray for the families. i had to go through it. and it's quite a nightmare. the sonoma based group after the fire usa is already helpi

let's bring in nbc's robert honda, who joins us in half moon bay. and robert, as you know, this is a tight knit community that still remains shaken up by what happened a couple of years back. oh, yeah. that's right. you know, that tight knit community has organized here tonight under this tent here in front of the community group headquarters, where they are having a memorial, as well as that candlelight vigil ceremony, which you will see right now, you are hearing singer francisco herrera, a theologian who is helping unite the group here. even though it was a horrific event two years ago, what the people here are trying to emphasize is the improvements that have been made to farm workers, living and working conditions, as well as reforms that have made for farm worker issues. and so even though, again, it is a sad event, as you can see, they're trying to keep a very upbeat attitude for this, and they're introducing different community leaders who are going to be talking about some of the improvements that have been made and some of the achievements

in san jose, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you very much, robert. health leaders in contra costa county are expanding when they send out hazardous material alerts. contra costa health now will be sending out alerts for level one incidents at industrial facilities, including oil refineries. level one alerts are for non-emergencies like refinery flaring that lasts over 20 minutes. previously, text alerts were only sent for more serious incidents. the alerts will now be sent via text and email. people living in the county can sign up to receive those alerts by going to the community warning system website. okay, months long lunar new year celebration in san francisco is about to kick off next week. today, organizers announced the full lineup of festivities, which will start with the opening ceremony in just a week. for many, the highlight is the annual lunar new year parade and as we've been telling you, that's happening february 15th, the day before the nba all star game at chase center. organizers are hoping that attendance to this year's celebration

in san jose, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. and we will continue our coverage of president trump's inauguration throughout the newscast coming up at 530. our political analyst, larry gerston joins us. he'll talk about president trump's promises when it comes to immigration, the transgender community, and even the panama canal. still ahead, honoring the life and work of doctor martin luther king jr. how he's being remembered in the bay area while encouraging people to serve as well. and bitter cold for large parts of the u.s. how they're bracing for more winter weather. and i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri right now, a comfortable 65 in san jose. but it's going to get to the 40s here tonight. and i'll show you where it dips down to the 30s i'm not happy with the way that pg&e handled the wildfires. yeah. yeah. i totally, totally understand. we're adding a ton of sensors. as soon as something comes in contact with the power line, it'll turn off so that there's not a risk that it's gonna fall to the ground and start a fire. ok

robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you very much, robert. san francisco state university today celebrated the opening of its new science and engineering innovation center. the project involved renovating an older building and then landing donations from the likes of genentech, gilead and agilent for the new equipment. all electric science building includes robotics, engineering and chemistry labs, and it's filled with the lates cutting edge tools and technology. academic buildings are more than four walls and some furniture. our students need access to new technologies and equipment, and they need the financial support to be able to use those technologies and equipment. and that took a village. csu chancellor's office provided $150 million to fully cover the facility's construction, and described it as a major investment in the california stem workforce. still ahead. is it something we could see one day in san francisco? pandas make their debut at the national zoo today in d.c. with a lot of fanfare, and then making sure that pets don't go w

here's nbc's robert honda. today, santa clara county says it now has the 600 volunteers needed to conduct the two day count. wednesday and thursday, they will fan out to count the unsheltered, and this year, they'll have a new app to collect more than just numbers. the bay area had almost 39,000 sheltered and unsheltered people in the last pit count in 2023. santa clara county had the highest local number with 9903, and many advocates say they believe the number is much higher. now, the county says next week's point in time count will determine if that's true. we're so grateful to everybody who has signed up. it's a huge community wide effort. the training has been provided to all volunteers. part of the training is guidance on using this new app called counting us, which will stream back real time counts and help identify where the highest concentration of unsheltered people are located. the app also allows the volunteers and the experienced workers they are paired with to do more than just count those living

robert honda nbc, bay area news. the fight for affordable housing is gaining the upper hand in one east bay community. a new complex just opened today in castro valley. crescent grove welcomed new residents with a tour of the property. the 72 units are located right by ruby street and crescent avenue. some of the units already are reserved for people who have recently become unhoused, as well as for veterans and people with disabilities. the remaining units were assigned based on a lottery system, to people who make less than 60% of the average income in the area. one new resident says she needed this complex to open. i was on a verge of homelessness right now. in my place where i stay now is inhabitable to live. and so when i say this place came just in time, it came just in time. a few other features of the complex include on site washer and dryers, as well as a community room and ev chargers. that's going to be great for them. all right, jeff is back with us. you know, it's really hard to enjoy the good weather th

in hollister, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. we have a timely financial lesson for you, courtesy of the la. firestorm i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. what you need to know about public insurance adjusters next. and i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. we continue to see the rain going way off to the north. but i'll tell you more details about when we may actually get some rain back pete g. writes, "my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we got you, pete. xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? -jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get an unlimited line free for a year, plus a free 5g phone. related issues. this s is als relevant to us for sure. consumer investigator chris kamara just tackled the thorny topic of public adjusters. here's a reality check. not everyone gets eve

our robert honda is looking into the savory details on that one. but let's begin with the rain. this is what it looked like on 101 in santa clara this morning. windshield wipers in full effect. let's bring in meteorologist vianey arana. okay. the rain came last night. what happens now? very quick moving. as we had forecasted. this is what it looks like now. gorgeous, gorgeous. and this is a sneak peek of what's ahead for the weekend. so let's get right to your microclimate forecast so i can show you where the rain is headed to now and what things we got to look out for as we inch into the weekend. so notice the sierra still very active. we've got some light scattered activity passing through sacramento, but the bulk of that cold front. we're now getting the tail of it. it is now out of the way and temperature wise we're in the 50s right now. we've even got a couple of 40s in some of the northern areas there. and as we inch into the weekend forecast, here's what to look out for. so we do have the return of our dangerous coast. we've got a high surf advisory along with the beach h

robert honda, nbc, bay area news. new information tonight on the rape case involving the former san francisco 49ers dana stubblefield. he will have to spend at least another two weeks in jail. an appeals court overturned stubblefield's conviction last week. it determined prosecutors made racially discriminatory statements about him being black, and since then, the department of corrections moved stubblefield from corcoran state prison, which is 160 miles south of the bay area, to elmwood jail in milpitas. now, this morning, stubblefield's attorneys returned to santa clara county superior court, but the motion to release stubblefield was continued to january 17th. the court says it needs more time to review the motion and see who has jurisdiction. the judge was very sympathetic about our situation, and he recognizes that under law, he should be returned to the status that he had prior to this false conviction. stubblefield's attorneys say their first priority is to get stubblefield released. then they plan to ask the j

robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you very much, robert. well, today is congresswoman barbara lee's last day in office, and it marks the end of an era representing the oakland area on the national stage. 78 year old u.s. representative is the highest ranking african-american woman appointed to democratic leadership. she was first elected in 1998. in her nearly three decades in office, she's focused on advocating for diversity, civil and human rights, social and economic justice. one of lee's biggest moments came after the september 11th attack. she was the only member of congress to oppose the authorization of the use of military force. so as i look back on my time, though, i feel a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to not only serve my community, but to advance justice, equity, and peace throughout our country and the entire world. the courage that she has is just so inspiring. and secondly, she has a grace and a skill, a gravitas, and yet a calmness that is just so incredible. and i'm going to take that with me. lateefah simon, what

nbc bay area's robert honda is in half moon bay and shows us how the town is trying to memorialize what happened under the looming threat of mass deportations. this is kitty fernandez park, near downtown, where community groups would like to set up the permanent memorial of the tragic event. today, half moon bay displayed artist renderings of the exhibits being proposed, with many people thinking back on how the shooting made the public sympathetic to farm workers, even as many are now being targeted for deportation. the first day of half moon bay, two day observance of the farm workers shooting began at this downtown plaza, where people were asked to choose their favorite memorial garden design, represents the tragic day twoest years ago when a farm worker, later diagnosed with mental issues, allegedly shot and killed seven coworkers. what happened two years ago today? it changed our lives. it changed the history not only in our community, you know, across the united states. farm workers became recognized. news coverage revealed not only farm workers grim working conditions, but also s

here's nbc bay area's robert honda. san jose and oakland firefighters have already been applying public pressure to get their cities to hire more help. the l.a. county fires are giving them another chance to make their case. san jose and oakland say the fires down south are a good reminder of what can happen here due to the similar urban wildland mix and the low number of firefighters for the population. i think the bottom line is numbers don't lie. according to staffing numbers compiled by the san jose fire department and the bay area news group in los angeles, there is nearly one firefighter per 1000 residents, and while firefighters there complain about those figures, san jose is actually lower, hovering between 0.67 to 0.75, while oakland has just over one firefighter per 1000 people. the national average tops one and a half. the san jose firefighters union says it will be pushing the city to boost their budget because they believe their staffing and benefits have fallen behind in comparison to san francisco. also j

in santa clara, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. well, parts of the united states bracing for dangerously cold temperatures this week. a blast of cold air from the arctic set to drop temperatures in the east and south. the national weather service says below freezing temperatures are possible as far south as florida and the gulf coast, and snow possible in southern plains states like kansas, louisiana and texas. wind chills could push temps below zero. the weather service says the cold spell could last until january 15th. and today we got our first real look at the sierra snow pack. it's important because many water agencies, they rely on the snow melt to fill our reservoirs. state water officials held the first survey of the year at the phillips station near south lake tahoe. there they go. gives us a snapshot of how much we might expect to fill our reservoirs when it melts. they took six samples and combined the numbers with 260 other sites around the state. and right now we are at 108%. but of course, still early in the season. a

robert honda, nbc, bay area news. let's go back down to la. not just the destruction, but now the frustration. millions of people mistakenly received emergency alerts telling them to evacuate. this happened twice. the second time it happened was this morning. yeah, the mistakes created panic that the county says it did quickly address. investigative reporter candice nguyen joins us with what went wrong and how the system is supposed to work. reporter l.a. county's director of emergency management says the cell phone alerts have already saved lives getting people to evacuate. but for millions of people, a couple of those alerts also created unnecessary chaos and some distrust in the alert system. friday morning, a tweet by the city of beverly hills saying, at 4 a.m, an evacuation alert went out. the county's office of emergency management confirming it was another error. the first errorr thursday. millions of people the office says received this alert on their phone, also by mistake, telling them to gather loved ones, pets and supplies and evac

our robert honda is looking into what agents might have been looking for. also, as crews make progress on the wildfires in la, some sense of normalcy is returning. the work being done to reopen schools for students displaced by those flames. and putting a hold on the citrus harvest. how the fear of ice raids could lead to higher prices at the grocery store. our damian trujillo is talking to his sources in the ag industry about fears in the migrant worker community. but let's go ahead and begin with that breaking news today. two months after former oakland mayor sheng thao was recalled, she is now facing criminal charges. the san francisco chronicle is reporting a federal grand jury indicted tor today following a corruption investigation. it comes after fbi raided her home. you might remember back in june. at the time, she said she wasn't the target and denied any wrongdoing. agents also went to the homes of members of the dewan family, owners of cal waste, the recycling company that has a contract with the city of oakland. the u.s. attorney's office has sch

robert honda, nbc, bay area news. well, in our nation's capital, the upcoming transition of power is now underway after congress officially certified president elect donald trump's election victory today. this comes four years after a mob of supporters attacked the capitol. today, though, no violence. vice president kamala harris presided over a joint session of congress this morning certifying the election that she lost to president elect trump. the orderly counting of the votes from each state happened without objection. the nation and security forces are now preparing for trump's inauguration, which happens two weeks from today. lots to talk about and no better person to talk about it with than our political analyst, larry gerston. larry, welcome. happy new year. okay, so we got through today. calm. no violence. no violence. is the violence and the division behind us? i tell you, it is an accomplishment just to get through today. and maybe we can thank the snow or whatever. but we did get through today. look, is th

robert honda, nbc, bay area news.an francisco is about to become the first city in california with speed cameras. they'll be up and running in march, but the city is getting the word out to drivers now to slow down. some of the cameras will be installed at cesar chavez and indiana streets. that's why a big billboard, this one right here, went up in the area, warning the drivers that speed cameras are coming now. the cameras will be set up at 33 spots across the city, including streets with schools, and they'll also be in places prone to speeders, like kikingtreet, where drivers are coming off a freeway. the biggest reason that we're doing speed cameras is because we want to change behavior. we want everyone to know exactly where these cameras are, exactly how the program works so that they can change their behavior and just slow down. that's that's really what we want. so sfmta says the cameras are triggered by cars going more than 11 miles an hour over the speed limit, and violations will not count as points against

in morgan hill, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you robert. our team obviously continuing to follow the fires in los angeles closely when we're not on the air. our website is a great resource. we're posting all the updates around the clock. just go to nbcbayarea.com. you can also find the latest on our nbc bay area app. this is a really important time to have this. it is free. download the app. it's in the google app store as well. our other headlines on this monday evening. a growing number of false reports are triggering real fear for many immigrants here in t bay area. it centers around president elect trump's promise of mass deportations, possibly on his first day of office. that's a week from today. the l.a. times rorts that last week, ice agents made arrests in kern county. that's near bakersfield. after that, were posted in several other bay area cities, including san jose and san francisco. those false reports are triggering real consequences. unfortunately, what we did see is that when that scare came out, parents did come to pick up

robert honda joins us live now in san jose. and robert. illegal fireworks is a problem in a lot of communities still. yeah. that's right. i don't think that there are too many communities that have a are able to actually escape this kind of situation here in san jose, in san jose, the first group that organized to try to stop illegal fireworks was formed 25 years ago. so that's why this has been such a common problem. we've got some images of illegal fireworks that were set off already earlier this year, and i think one of the big problems is for any community is that it's not just that people are setting off illegal fireworks, but they set it off as a show for either their family or usually for entir neighborhoods. and the problem with that is that if you're going to put on a show, you need bigger fireworks, you need bigger aerial fireworks, you need bigger explosions. everything's bigger. the technology of fireworks has accommodated that. and so the problem is you have more consequences f from tse kind of fireworks, you know, sparks and

nbc bay area's robert honda is in half moon bay and shows us how the town is trying to memorialize whathappened under the looming threat of mass deportations. this is kitty fernandez park, near downtown, where community groups would like to set up the permanent memorial of the tragic event. today, half moon bay displayed artist renderings of the exhibits being proposed, with many people thinking back on how the shooting made the public sympathetic to farm workers, even as many are now being targeted for deportation. the first day of half moon bay, two day observance of the farm workers shooting began at this downtown plaza, where people were asked to choose their favorite memorial garden design, represents the tragic day twoest years ago when a farm worker, later diagnosed with mental issues, allegedly shot and killed seven coworkers. what happened two years ago today? it changed

nbc bay area's robert honda joins us from palo alto over what you could call the case of the potentially pilfered paella. we're here in palo alto, where a new restaurant is scheduled to open later this year, but it's being started by a couple headed to court after a restaurant chain they used to work for accused them of stealing recipes and client information to open this new business. the restaurant group teleferic barcelona, started in spain and now operates a small chain of popular restaurants, including three in the bay area but now in a trade secrets lawsuit first reported in the mercury news, teleferic is accusing a husband and wife who work for the company for years of stealing recipes and customer client information on their way out and using them to launch their own restaurant, the macarena, which is opening in palo alto later this year. close to a teleferic

nbc bay area's robert honda joins us from san jose to show us some of the illegal fireworks that have already started. this lot on san antonio street is a spot where police have responded to illegal fireworks before. it's hard to tell if people setting off those fireworks will return tonight, but neighbors say illegal fireworks shows will almost certainly be set up somewhere nearby. these are illegal fireworks being set off this year in east san jose around 4th of july, and the neighborhood association that shot these images says it's

it was it was in peggy bunker came down and robert honda came down. it was just just spectacular. lot of people are going to be wondering, what are you going to do in retirement? well, i'm going to wake up tomorrow morning and start figuring it out. i think it's going to feel i think it's going to feel like a vacation for the first week, and then it's going to be like, well, you know, i don't know, maybe it'll keep feeling like a vacation, going to spring training, going to stay a little longer. maybe this time. watch the giants play down there, go on road trips, watch the giants, niners, whatever, that kind of thing. see where it goes and see what i'm attracted to. what kind of volunteer or work, i don't know. we'll see. all right. but it's been great. and thank you very much for making it happen. happy retirement here. thank you gia. thank you. we'll miss you so much terry. thank you. thanks, marianne. all right, rob, let's talk weather. there's no easy way. you guys been working together for a long time? well, let's look at a travel forecast where you might want to go tomorrow.

honda. auburn university president christopher roberts said of the 26-year-old alum, words cannot convey the for drew's family. kareem had just finished his first semester at the university of alabama. his father told reporters his son spent his life loving people and socializing with friends. he was only 18. also 18, she had her whole life ahead of her according to her great aunts. she dreamed of becoming a nurse like her mother who hadn't 100 or to go to new orleans. elliott wilkinson was 40 years old and living on the streets at the time of his death. his older brother cecil told reporters that he had a history of mental illness. he said on facebook, you will truly be missed and i know life is hard for you at times. reggie hunter had to -- headed to bourbon street right after work. the 37-year-old was also a father of two. the 21-year-old was from a nearby town and was a huge white sox fan. in a facebook post his sister said, you deserve so much better than this. i'm don't know how i'm supposed to go on without you. edward was from london and had ties to the british royal family. his step

honda motor company. in a statement, auburn university president christopher roberts said of the 26 year old alum, "wordsw the auburn family feels for drew's family." kareem badawi had just finished his first semester at the university of alabama. his father told reporters his son "spent all his life loving people and socializing with friends." he was only 18. also 18, nikyra dedeaux had her whole life ahead of her. according to her great aunt, she dreamed of becoming a nurse, like her mother who hadn't wanted her to go to new orleans. dedeaux was from mississippi. elliot wilkinson was 40 years old and living on the streets at the time of his death. his older brother, cecil, told reporters elliott had a history of mental illness. he said on facebook, "you will be truly missed. i know life was hard for you at times." reggie hunter headed to bourbon street straight after work. his cousin said he loved fashion and always matched. the 37 year old was a father of two. 21 year old hubert gauthreaux was from a nearby town, and was a huge chicago white sox fan. in a facebook post, his sister, brooke, said, "you