we are live in oakland, tara moriarty, ktvu news at noon. >> thank you, tara. >>> it's being called a new prater of the project. a piece of the tower is slowly being lifted into place. jade hernandez is there right now. good afternoon, jade. >> reporter: good afternoon, we are observing this lengthy process from treasure island. only one of the areas will be installed today. it's one step closer to the completion of the bay bridge. >> it's going to be visible for the entire area of the bay. >> reporter: one onlooker captured history being crafted. >> the l skills and the labor going into this is amazing. most just drive over this. they don't have an understanding of the time it takes to put it together. >> reporter: we watched as the workers hoisted the piece up. each piece weighs more than 1100-tons and event eventually will be connected by four beams. >> amazingly enough, bridges are hand built and the history is reflected by who is actually doing the work. >> reporter: news chopper 2 shows the exact same company work that did the work in the 1920s. >> it's great for the moral of th

tara moriarty is joining us live now with all of the details. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, dave. this has been a hectic morning in richmond. the first fire broke out and the fire got so intense it actually blew out the windows. over here, you can see the big black marks come pg out the front windows and that's where the smoke was streaming out. now, less than three miles away, another fire raged through a garage attached to a house. everyone got out safely. that blaze started just before 5:00. that's about an hour apart from the first fire, but the authorities say they have no reason to believe the two connected. now, on 46th street, the investigators just arrived on the scene. they say they are not waiting until daybreak to see what caused this fire. they are actually in there with their lights trying to sift through the area. a couple of bedrooms and a bathroom sustained damage, but no one was in the house at the time of the fire: there are a couple of hot spots inside the house. we are live in richmond, tara moriarty, ktvu ch

tara moriarty has new information and joins us now with an update. tara? >> reporter: well, the investigators are telling us these two fire res not connected in any way. right now, we are at the one at 46th street. you can see a garden hose laying on the lawn here. this is where a neighbor was spraying the house until the firefighters arrived. the investigators say this fire is suspicious. just before 5:00, a fire broke out in san pablo. flames broke out in the garage. the neighbors say everyone got out of the house safely. no word yet on what caused the fire, but less than three miles away, just before 4:00, the crews received a call of a fire. again, no one was home at the time, and it took crews about a half an hour to get it under control. >> there was quite a bit of fire and smoke when we got here. the crews did a good job of getting in and knocking it down, but it was a challenge for us getting into the attic space. >> reporter: four enjoys and a -- engines and a truck arrived on the scene. the chief just told us that two rooms sustained heavy damage

ktvu's tara moriarty joins us live now to explain. good afternoon, tora. >> reporter: good afternoon. both sides are seemingly at war here. police say that violent especially home-invasion robberies have actually surged in one section of the city. while city leaders point to overall crime which they say is down 20% compared to last year. now, both sides of the city and police union have been embroiled in bitter negotiations for weeks to try to shake the city's projected $50 million come next fiscal year. fine hi last night, a breakthrough when the city council voted to propose a dollar a day parcel tax for homeowners for the november ballot. officers would start paying into own pension. but the measure needs a two- thirds majority. >> it was a hard thing to think about. we think a lot of homeowners can't afford that amount but we wanted to meet the union halfway. it's a chance for the community to weigh in. the only way we're going to retain and save or bring back more officers or have more officers than we had before is by inkeysing

tara moriarty joining us live. she has the details on all of this. good morning, tara. >> reporter: well, good morning, dave. according to facebook at least 100 people are planning on showing up at this rally scheduled for monday. this is perhaps the first one of its kind in support of former bart police officer johannes mehserle and people from oscar grant's support now say they too plan on attending. police are gearing up for the demonstration which promises to be an emotionally charged one in front of the courthouse from 2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon. they have spoken to the event's key organizer to nen ensure a peaceful protest. 1 man said he doesn't plan to show up at the rally but he does support the idea. >> i want to support our police officers in all agencies and i dpreef for the grant family and their loved ones, again, it is a complicated situation and a lot of hard feelings on many sides for a long time. >> reporter: he was convicted july 8th of involuntary manslaughter for killing oscar grant on new year's day of last year at a bart stati

just released new information about the firefight on interstate -- [ inaudible ] >> -- right to tara moriarty tara, what is the latest? what did you find out? >> reporter: well, fbi agents are interviewing the suspect soon. he is listed in serious but stable condition here at highland hospital. he suffered at least half a dozen gunshot wound and that figure actually would have been higher except he was wearing body armor at the time of the shooting. joining me is sergeant trent cross to tell me exactly who is this guy and what happened yesterday. >> yeah, we are dealing with an individual who is definitely unstable in the sense of hoofing the body armor, a heavy arsenal of weapons and anytime anyone takes on the police it clearly shows they have no regard for human life. >> he was weaving in and out of traffic, safe to say he was driving under the influence. >> yes,ly was driving under the influence of alcohol, for those officers involved this is a situation we see every day, someone speedingnd weaving in and out of lanes and in a matter of seconds they are in a fight for their life. >> so he

ktvu's tara tara moriarty has our report. >> reporter: intense gunfire erupted after two chp officers pulled over someone on a suspected dui in oakland. >> this is every officer's worst nightmare, to be in a situation where you are faced with someone with a high- powered rifle. if you can just imagine a scene out of a movie where there's shell casings, everywhere, multiple shots are being exchanged. >> reporter: according to the highway patrol, the two officers were rookies, only six months on the job. one officer noticed a cache of weapons inside the driver's pickup. that's when byron williams of groveland shot at officers. he was wearing a bulletproof vest. the second officer radioed for backup. >> one thing i must say, they were very cool, very calm. under control. it was truly amazing to see how they were considering the minimal amount of time they have on the job. >> reporter: just to give you an idea of the scope of the investigation, chp officers blocked off a mile stretch of interstate 580 beginning on that overpass all the way past this one. wethey wanted to make sure -- they

tara moriarty is live at the hospital with more on the suspect and his possible motive. rning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, tori. just to give you an idea of how crazy this freeway shooting was. officers have recovered more than 150 rounds of ammunition along the crime scene. we're learning more information about the suspect who may have started it all. he's a patient here at highland hospital listed in serious but stable condition at the moment. he's 45-year-old parolee byron williams of groveland. he suffered at least half a dozen gunshot wounds in a while shootout with authorities. it happened around midnight saturday night around interstate 580 westbound in oakland. chp officers pulled over williams for allegedly driving drunk. he was spotted weaving in and out of traffic. when the first officer approached his pickup truck, he noticed a stash of weapon, including a rifle handgun and shot gun. the officers called for backups when williams opened fire. he was wearing a bulletproof vest. they believe williams was going to carry out big plans. the officers here were v

tara moriarty joins us now from the police department with the very latest on this late night agreement. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, pam. well, it is sort of a surprise offer from the police union. what it could mean is that folks here could be digging deeper into their pockets to put those officers back out on the street. last night the city council voted to put a $360 parcel pack on the november ballot if police agree to pay into their own pensions. now rank and file still have to approve the deal but the union did agree that officers would contribute 9% of their pay phased in over a three year period to their pension fund. it is something city leaders have been asking for before the recent layoffs but the deal all hinges on the packs passing by a 2/3 majority this november. >> we have been hearing from a lot of people in the community, from faith groups and community, from unions, they have to contribute like everybody else and they have finally said we will contribute if the par pell packs passes. >> reporter: the parcel tax would generate $54 million a year more

tara moriarty is at highland hospital where the suspect is being treated. good morning, tara. >> reporter: well, good morning, pam. that's right. he is listed in serious but stable condition. investigators have a lot of questions for him this morning in trying to piece together what exactly led up to this shooting spree. now authorities say 45-year-old byron williams of groveland opened fire on chp officers on 580 in oakland early sunday. williams was apparently hit by return fire but was wearing a bulletproof vest. it all started around midnight when two chp officers tried to stop a white pickup truck weaving in and out of westbound traffic. the suspect pulled over right on the freeway and as officers approached him they say williams picked up a handgun and started shooting. officers radioed for back up and say the driver was armed with not only a had gun but a rifle and shotgun as well. his mother spoke to us and said he was angry at left wing politicians because he could not get a job. janis williams says she didn't notice her guns were missing from her s

tara moriarty has new information. she's back with the update. >> good morning. investigators are now seeing that this house fire does look suspicious. we did see richmond police arrive moments ago. we're here on 46th street in richmond. if you look inside you can see the house is pretty much gutted of the fire started around -- gutted. the fire started around 4:00 this morning and another fire started on 1st and alfreda. crews were able to extinguish the flames quickly. neighbors say everyone inside the home did make it out safely. no word on what caused that fire. but less than three miles away, crews took half an hour to get this house fire under control. luckily, no one was home at the time. >> well, our investigator's on scene. weiss gonna go through the -- he's gonna go through the house and look for where the fire started and come up with the cause. >> reporter: investigators sifted through each room. we're told two rooms sustained heavy damage. one is the living room. the other is the bedroom. according to the chief, this could indicate that the fire bega

tara moriarty has more. >> reporter: there are a number of neighborhoods that stretch from east to west oakland in an area that's known as area 2. officers we spoke to say that the number of violent home- invasion robberies have spiked there. police say they are stepping up patrols. many people that criminals are getting more brazen now that the police force down 80 officers due to recent layoffs. but last night a breakthrough came when the city voted to put a four-year parcel tax on the november ballot. it would more than cover the projected shortfall predicted next year. this is a condition that the police union demanded before it would agree to have officers fork over 9% of their salaries toward their pension. but many city leaders say the controversial parcel tax is too much to ask of oakland residents during this financial crunch. >> i think everybody is going through a difficult time. i think rehave the responsibility to manage with what we have. >> reporter: the parcel tax is key to bring back the 80 officers laid july 13th. if passed, the force would be back up to 803 officer. r

let's get right to tara moriarty with details of the new crime spree. good morning, tara. >> reporter: well, good morning, dave. almost right after those 80 police officers lost their jobs violent crime spiked, that is according to authorities we spoke to this morning. basically what they tell us is the number of home invasion robberies surged in an area called area 2, a neighborhood wedged between east and west oakland. now some say that criminals are simply -- [ inaudible ] >> -- stepped up patrols in that area. last notice a breakthrough came when police -- the union agreed to contribute 9% of their pay towards their own pensions, that is something that city leaders have been asking for before the layoffs but the contributions will only go through if voters approve a $360 per parcel tax on the ballot. it would fund police and fire services but must pass by a 2/3 majority and police we spoke to say they are not banking on it happening -- [overlapping speakers] [ inaudible ] >> -- pass -- >> -- right -- >> -- kidding ourselves, this is not an easy tax

tara moriarty joins us live with that story. >> reporter: good morning, claudine.erle supporters were the only ones slated to show up at this rally set for monday but now we are learning that grant supporters also plan on attending. walnut police have reached out to them regarding the demonstration that is scheduled to take place on the courthouse from 2:00 until 5:00 in the afternoon. officers have been gathering intelligence to make sure they are prepped for the event, launched soley on facebook. they have met with the rally's key organizers who have remained anonymous in order to set boundaries. >> if they are two convicting sides in an emotional issue, which this is, we are going to make sure we have enough personnel to keep the peace. >> reporter: organizers say they want to show support for johannes mehserle, his family and other officers. they say public support for him is long overdue and many people were simply too scared to speak up for him sooner. about 100 people plan on attending. they contend that oscar grant's death was an accident. he was found guil