terry mcsweeney reports. >> reporter: something missing at the oakland zoo. no where can you find hopeople. >> we are living on our reserve and we only have three months of reserves left. >> reporter: oakland zoo's ceo said it cost $2.5 million per month to operate this month. the federal ppe money is spent and the situationdire. all he really wants is the zoo to be allowed to reopened and that will take county public health officials to reclassify the zoo. >> museums have been authorized to open and that's in stage two, which is allowed. but the state has placed zoos in stage three. >> our attempts to contact county officials after hours were unsuccessful. this family lives near the zoo and loves to take the kids there and the parents both workedzo . >> zoo officials say they have a solid social distancing plan to reopen and if county officials are looking for another one, they can ask raymond llamas. >> i think it would be okay to do that. close down the food court and the rides and allow them to open up the zoo portion. >> reporter: if the nonprofit which

nbc bay area's terry mcsweeney joins us live from oracle park with more on this ultra weird opening night. terry? >> reporter: ultra weird beginning to middle to end. it was absolutely the strangest night of my baseball life. but at least we had baseball. miami marlins, they don't have baseball. they're not going to have it until at least next week because of a covid-19 outbreak. so the fans are out here tonight are saying, let's celebrate this crazy beginning to this season while we still have it. >> let's go marlins! >> reporter: some hints of normalcy at oracle park for the giants home opener tonight. lucille doing his thing. the cove covered with kayakers and fans trying to peek in to see the game for free in right field. but inside, no fans, just cardboard cutouts because of covid-19. twin sisters kristen hembree and lisa thomas haven't missed a home opener in ten years and they didn't miss tonight's. >> just to have something positive and normal even if it's just weird. >> and even if it's just two is fragile season might last. the miami marlins today announced four more covid-19 in

let's bring in nbc bay area's terry mcsweeney, who joins us in berkeley. terry, we're nearing the midnight hour. any decision there yet? >> reporter: no, and it's going to be a while. this city council meeting taking place via zoom. there's still about 100 people who have dialed in. they want to be heard tonight. and so far just about everybody is in favor of defunding the police. in fact a lot of people are saying they're hoping this is just a first step in defunding the police by 50% over the next few years. >> we want you to actually say you're defunding the police, actually do things differently. >> reporter: the berkeley city council deciding if its police officers should no longer be dealing with traffic enforce many. supporters say people of color are most likely to suffer if a traffic stop goes bad. >> law enforcement is heinously overpaid and overresourced and they are a danger to our citizens, particularly our black, brown, and unhoused neighbors. >> reporter: traffic enforcement would instead be in the hands of a new transportation department mad

and as nbc bay area's terry mcsweeney reports, the attorney for the officer says they've got it all wrong. >> reporter: the message is and clear in vallejo tonight. dozens of people caravanning to the home or business of every city councilmember to urge them to vote to defund the police at tomorrow's meeting and spend that money elsewhere. >> health services, affordable housing services, mental health, youth programs, things of that nature. >> reporter: this inspired in large part by last month's police killing of 22-year-old sean monterrosa and allegations of evidence tampering by the officers. >> it's a sad situation that two very, very fine police officers now are on administrative leave over a bunch of nonsense. >> reporter: lieutenant michael nick leeny and an unnamed detective are on administrative leave as the state attorney general's office investigates what happened just after midnight june 2nd. a report of looting. body cam video shows police responding. one officer firing the fatal shots from the back seat right through the front windshield. the video does not show what monterr

nbc area's terry mcsweeney has the late details. >> reporter: the sierra county sheriff's office telling us tonight that the man in custody for the killing is 40-year-old john thomas conway of oroville, a man who had never met dr. ari gershman or anybody in his family. >> it's just get wrenching, this whole thing is just unreal. >> reporter: friday was supposed to be a new adventure for 46-year-old dr. ari gershman and his 15-year-old son jack, off roading in a just purchased red jeep wrangler rubicon like this one. they chose poker flat near downieville. >> had never been there before but were out there for a day of fun. >> reporter: ari's wife, paige, had cancer, so she stayed in danville for treatment. her world was shaken by a call from her son jack. >> dad's been shot. i think he's dead, and i have no idea where i am. and i'm lost in the forest, and there's a shooter, and i am scared. and i don't think i'm going to make it out of here alive. >> reporter: marlowe and paige raced to downieville where deputies confirmed the worst. ari was dead. jack was still out there, no one knew whe

nbc bay area's terry mcsweeney has more. >> reporter: governor newsom sounding the alarm today. in the past two weeks, covid-19 hospitalizations are up 43%. icu admissions up 37%. if that doesn't change soon, the governor is promising stricter actions statewide. >> tomorrow we'll be making some additional announcements on efforts to use that dimmer switch that we've referred to and begin to toggle back on our stay-at-home order. >> dr. george rutherford, professor of epidemiology at uc san francisco says several factors are at play here in the bay area. the 1,000 infected prisoners at san quentin, an increase in infections at retirement homes, people letting down their guard during the recent reopenings, and -- >> there's this ongoing outbreak in the latinx communities. >> reporter: because of the increase in cases, san francisco, marin, contra costa, and alameda counties have all paused their reopenings. and this message from dr. anthony fauci today in washington for all americans. >> we are now having 40-plus-thousand new cases a day. i would not be surprised if we go up to 10

nbc bay area's terry mcsweeney joins from us oracle park where fans, players, and coaches are trying to figure out if the season will survive this pandemic. barely a week in, terry. >> reporter: yeah, janelle, you know as well as i do, this is so abnormal. if this were any other home opener for the giants in their history or any time in the future, we hope, there would be people inside that gate trying to sneak a peek at the giants for free in the hole in the wall in right field. there would be orange and black behind me, people screaming "go giants." also a lot more kayakers here in mccovey cove. but that is not the case tonight. take a look inside the ballpark. we were in there earlier. the sounds of summer, batter practice, but cardboard-only fans. you wonder how long we're even going to have this. miami marlins have postponed the next six games all the way through sunday. four more members of the team tested positive for covid-19. they cans seed the yankees/phillies series because the marlins played the phillies. manager cave capler says the players are well aware of the situation

i am terry mcsweeney. we have been tracking developments in martinez for the last half-hour. it is moving along. marching, stopping, speaking and marching some more. so far the police haven't been needed in response to a number of incidents including a viral video of two people trying to paint over the city's big yellow black lives matter mural. pete is live at the scene. what's up? >> reporter: yeah, terry. we are standing in front of the black lives matter mural. that viral video of two people painting over it on fourth of july. folks in support of the black lives matter movement. we want to show you some of the chopper video. they left the area to waterfront park about a mile from where we are standing. we know it was planned a couple of weeks ago. now the organizers for the rally were calling for a response today. it has been a peaceful response. that viral video, two people on fourth of july painting over the city approved black lives matter mural in martinez. at least a portion of it here in front of the superior courthouse. those two people are facing vandalism charges

i'm terry mcsweeney. fire crews have been very busy, not just the threat from fireworks. they got the hot and dry conditions. tom. >> reporter: terry, the winds helped fan these flames earlier when this car was called in. with the firefighters, of course, quite quick fire suppression on this, this afternoon. this fire continues to burn in extremely dry grasses, trees and shrubs here, county. this is o from a cal fire station. cal fire was able hit it quickly with an initial attack that included retardant drops to protect homes and a number of other structures here. two helicopters have been dropping water on this fire since then over the past three hours or so fremont fire department and livermore pleasanton, a number of trucks and crews working on the containment lines and suppression. at last report, it torched about 100 acres total. no homes or other structures were damaged. about 40% contained. no injuries to report at this time. we don't know the cause yet. drivers can definitely see this, at least earlier this afternoon. when that smoke was a lotier as 680 southbound

i'm terry mcsweeney. shocked and confused.some south bay restaurant owners say they're feeling after state agents said they have to shut down their business this fourth of july weekend. take a look at this surveillance video. you see the agents walking into the ladera grill in morgan hill. here's nbc bay area's pete cerratos with more. >> reporter: the ladera grill in morgan hill is trying its best to adjust to the new normal. social distancing, employees wearing face masks, and outdoor-only dining are just a few of the changes being implemented during the pandemic. so imagine the shock from this owner when he was informed by his on-site manager that these two members of law enforcement told him they had to shut down the business. >> two guys in costume came in and told me that i have to shut down or my customers will be cit cited, i'll be cited, my managers will be cited. it's irritating. it's unprofessional, and i think it's mendacious.

i'm terry mcsweeney. a serious situation across the bay area right now.rews out in force as fires continue to pop up seemingly every few minutes. in san jose, firefighters are battling a fire at watson park. that's near japantown and right along highway 101. the fire put up a lot of smoke. no word on the cause right now. we were able to see that fire from one of our traffic cameras. you see the flames and smoke on the left side of your screen there. the fire is burning so close to southbound 101, the chp says a tree caught fire right next to the freeway, forcing them to shut down several lanes at mckey road. one lane still closed right now. >>> up in san francisco, a fire at mclaren park. people even watching from homes below. crews are still at the scene. it's not clear what started that fire. i'm going to be following this as it develops. >>> illegal fireworks lighting up the skies above the east bay tonight. this is video from our traffic camera in emeryville about an hour ago. no official fireworks programs. this is just people out in the street. here

i'm terry mcsweeney. >> i'm anoushah rasta. a surge of new cases and people are still facing long lines to get tests and long waits to get results. in the south bay, a plan to boost testing and do it more efficiently. today people lined up to get tests as wrist bands helped make that process easier. >> and sadness in the east bay tonight. the alameda county sheriff's office is in mourning. flags flown at half-staff after two of its members died from covid-19. >>> let's take a look at where we stand across the bay area. alameda county continues to be the region's hot spot. it is the only county with, yep, more than 10,000 reported cases. in the past 24 hours, it reported 116 new infections. across the bay area, there are now more than 45,000 cases and 750 people have died. health leaders in alameda county are pleading with people to do one thing, stay home. family gatherings, parties, even outdoor gatherings at places like lake merrittre

i'm terry mcsweeney. tonight the rules about what th costa county health leaders announced they're tightening mechanics wearing because county leaders say it's a sign the virus is spreading quickly. they say the reopening process was contingent on cases not surpassing the 8% mark and now they've reached it, they need to rethink the return to normal. >> i've been concerned at how quickly it has skyrocket. two weeks ago we were seeing 3.9 to 4.2% of everyone tested being positive and we are very concerned we have 8% benchmark. we set a cap at 8%, and now we need to scale back and keep the community safe and really encourage people to take safeguards to we can slow the spread. >> what that means is starting at midnight tomorrow, indoor gatherings considered high risk for spreading the virus will be banned. the order primarily pertains to religious services. keep this in mind. any services scheduled for tomorrow morning will still be allowed. tomorrow morning, they're still a go. masks must be worn. let's tak

. >> and i'm gavin thomas in for terry mcsweeney.me businesses are getting ready to close. >> eight out of nine bay area counties are on the watch list which means they have to close certain high-risk businesses. last night we told you how san mateo county is the only one to remain off the list. that could change in a matter of days. >> christie smith is in san francisco with reaction from business owns.

. >> and i'm gavin thomas in for terry mcsweeney. some businesses are getting ready to close. >> eight out of nine bay area counties are on the watch list which means they have to close certain high-risk businesses. last night we told you how san mateo county is the only one to remain off the list. that could change in a matter of days. >> christie smith is in san francisco with reaction from business owners. >> reporter: we spoke with retailers who say it took time to prepare to have customers. they understand public health comes first but they hope people take precautions so this doesn't last a long time. >> it's going to hurt. >> reporter: stefan jordan runs a store and is concerned about not being able to have customers walk through the door after he reopened with precautions. >> we're a retail store. the money is what we do here so that's the devastating angle. >> reporter: after a rise in covid-19 hospitalizations san francisco was placed on the state's watch list. indoor malls will have to shut down and that affects japan cent

i'm terry mcsweeney. dry and dangerous conditions have firefighters across the bay area battling several fires. the largest burning in the south bay right now. they're calling it the cruz fire. this is near cruz and ferguson roads. it's 3 miles from the gilroy outlets and highway 101. nbc bay area ginger joining us. ginger, this fire has exploded over the past few hours. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely right, terry. you can see clearly that thick layer of smoke that keeps getting thicker and wider behind me. that's the cruz fire that started befo 3

i'm terry mcsweeney. coronavirus cases surging in contra costa county, and now swift action. leaders tightening restrictions from church services to masks. nbc bay area's sergio quintana live in lafayette with the details on that. sergio. >> reporter: terry, when the county rolled back some of its restrictions a few weeks ago, it was on the condition that at the time, coronavirus infections were actually coming down a bit. unfortunately that's not the case anymore. as of this week, they're at about 8% of those who are tested, which is basically the threshold to start tightening up some of the rules again. now, the newly revised health order now requires stricter rules for outdoor dining. basically customers will now be required to keep their masks on at their tables except whileng. members of social bubbles will have to keep their masks on at all times while they're together. and indoor worship services will be

i'm terry mcsweeney. tonight contra costa county leaders say the coronavirus is spreading rapidly there. a sharp rise in the positivity rate being met with action but there's now also concern about overwhelming hospitals. nbc bay area's sergio quintana has details on this weekend's new rules. >> reporter: when contra costa county rolled back some of its restrictions last month, it was on the condition that infections seemed to be slowing. unfortunately that's not the case anymore. infection rates have doubled over the last couple weeks. >> we set a cap at 8%, and now that we've reached that, we realize we need to scale back. we need to keep the community safe and really encourage people to take these additional safeguards. >> reporter: the newly revised health order now requires stricter rules for outdoor dining, members of social bubbles will have to keep their masks on at all times while they're together, and indoor worship service will be temporarily prohibited after tomorrow night. >> a church service

. >> i'm terry mcsweeney. a protest in support of the movement in portland has turned destructive. you can see the flames burning at the renee c. davidson courthouse. this is downtown oakland right near lake merritt, all happening within the past hour. video of the entrance filled with flames and smoke posted on social media. you can see fireworks going off in the area, but the extent of the damage to the courthouse not yet clear. >> earlier tonight several protesters broke off a peaceful demonstration downtown and vandalized a police station. you see a photo of it right there. oakland p.d. tweeted, asking organizers to keep the protests peaceful after the station was spray-painted and those windows were broken. fireworks were also set off there, and officers in helicopters were targeted with lasers. we'll continue to update you on this breaking situation in oakland. >>> now we want to go to our coronavirus coverage. more testing and less waiting. if you tried to get a covid-19 test in the last few weeks, you may have waited for hours to get it. but in san jose today, wait times we

i'm terry mcsweeney. dry and dangerous conditions have firefighters across the bay area battling several fires. the largest burning in the south bay right now. they're calling it the cruz fire. this is near cruz and ferguson roads. it's 3 miles from the gilroy outlets and highway 101. nbc bay area ginger joining us. ginger, this fire has exploded over the past few hours. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely right, terry. you can see clearly that thick layer of smoke that keeps getting thicker and wider behind me. that's the cruz fire that started before 3:00 this afternoon and quickly grew to 600 acres. that's according to the latest update from the santa clara unit cal fire. about an hour ago, evacuations are also under place along all of kenyatta road. at least four helicopters are working at keeping this fire at a moderate spread. where we're standing, we're a little bit southwest of where the fire is burning. the wind seems to be blowing the fire east and growing that way, but not too long ago another layer

i'm terry mcsweeney. coronavirus cases surging in contra costa county, and now swift action. leaders tightening restrictions from church services to masks. nbc bay area's sergio quintana live in lafayette with the details on that. sergio. >> reporter: terry, when the county rolled back some of its restrictions a few weeks ago, it was on the condition that at the time, coronavirus infections were actually coming down a bit. unfortunately that's not the case anymore. as of this week, they're at about 8% of those who are tested, which is basically the threshold to start tightening up some of the rules again. now, the newly revised health order now requires stricter rules for outdoor dining. basically customers will now be required to keep their masks on at their tables except whileng. members of social bubbles will have to keep their masks on at all times while they're together. and indoor worship services will be temporarily prohibited after tomorrow night. the stricter rules are being implemented because they're trying to slow the continuing spread of coronavirus infections. >

here's nbc bay area's terry mcsweeney. ♪ >> reporter: a heavenly glow illuminates the gershman housen danville tonight as the family celebrates the life of 45-year-old dr. ari gershman. his widow, paige, in the middle of a battle with cancer and the gershman children moved by the show of support. >> the idea of this is surrounding the house and his family, his wife and his three kids, surrounding them with love and support so that they know that they're not alone. >> reporter: twinkling electric candles and messages of love and support for the family, many of these words written by neighbors. >> we're just heartbroken about losing ari, and he was such a kind, generous man. >> we're praying for them and that heaven gained a wonderful angel. >> i basically just wrote about some memories we had, how every time i was kind of struggling, he would just say, you got this. >> reporter: dr. gershman was shot and killed july 3rd in an unprovoked attack while off-roading with his teenage son jack. several law enforcement agencies helped track down the killer and found jack after he had spent 30

i'm terry mcsweeney. >> and the protests ended with destruction. oaklanddqrters and the federal courthouse were all targeted. vandals are using the cover of protest to push their own agenda. sergio is in oakland with more. >> reporter: tonight the historic superior courthouse in oakland is mostly boarded up. but the blight of spray paint remains. this is what vandals left after a solidarity march evolved into a stand-off with police and vandalism. now plenty of people have come by to survey the damage. >> what goes through my mind, this is a backfire on peaceful people and the city of oakland. like i said, trump could play this all the way up until november 3rd. >> they don't know. >> reporter: the wife of one of the co-founders of black panthers. she's pushing for a historic monument to be built across the street commemorating the black panther party and their original mission. >> would this have happened in this way if the monument was here and if this was all power to the people's plaza. >> reporter: late saturday night someone set fire inside o

our reporter, terry mcsweeney, will have more from dr. gershman's family coming up tonight on our 11:00 newscast. >> that sounds harrowing. >>> the parents of a 6-year-old boy shot and killed in san francisco over the weekend made a public appearance today. jace young was killed and the family and the city's mayor pleaded for help in catching the gunman. jackie ward has more. >> reporter: somehow jace young's parents found the strength to be here by the water, one of their son's favorite spots. they're pleading for anyone to come forward if they have information on their son's death. >> do you understand how hard it is to get up here as a black man? something so senseless. >> reporter: jason young spoke from the podium alongside his son's mother, keisha. he says the violence he's witnessed his whole life has to stop. his son jace was shot and killed on the fourth of july as he watched fireworks. >> it's how you can help this family by getting justice for jace. please, before somebody else gets hurt. >> reporter: san francisco police say t

i'm terry mcsweeney. another emotion gnat night in martinez. first, two people tried to blac mural. now a few hours ago someone pulled a gun on activists. the latest efforts to protect that mural. >> reporter: community members onguard today. the social justice message painted by 100 people on the 4th of july. just yesterday a white couple was caught on video trying to paint over the permitted mural. martinez police shared a picture of their white nissan pickup with the name nicole on the tail let. a man who witnessed the vandalism saturday talked to us by phone. he was there again this afternoon at about 6:00 when someone else pulled up in a jeep and yelled all lives matter. >> and then my friends pursued them on a skateboard and then when he pulled up to them and said, what's up, the guy then pulled a gun on him. >> reporter: the man who did not want to be identified captured video of police over the man. >> i have to commend them for not only being on the scene but for responding so quickly because they were on him this crazy fast. >> reporter: 30-year-old joseph osuna who is now

i'm terry mcsweeney. shocked and confused. that's how some south bay restaurant owners say they're feeling after state agents said they have to shut down their business this fourth of july weekend. take a look at this surveillance video. you see the agents walking into the ladera grill in morgan hill. here's nbc bay area's pete cerratos with more. >> reporter: the ladera grill in morgan hill is trying its best to adjust to the new normal. social distancing, employees wearing face masks, and outdoor-only dining are just a few of the changes being implemented during the pandemic. so imagine the shock from this owner when he was informed by his on-site manager that these two members of law enforcement told him they had to shut down the business. >> two guys in costume came in and told me that i have to shut down or my customers will be cit cited, i'll be cited, my managers will be cited. it's irritating. it's unprofessional, and i think it's mendacious. >> reporter: it took place friday night after 8:00 p.m. morgan hill police sa