tom jensen reports from walnut creek where more officers are now patrolling the streets. >> reporter: the sheriff department made the announcement of the new patrol today, as soon as we arrived in downtown walnut creek, we saw patrol here assisting with walnut creek police. the promise assistance from the contra costa is in response to a growing number of organize retail thefts like this one at broadway plaza nearly two weeks ago. >> we are concerned because this is something that we don't see in walnut creek. it's pretty crazy, it's hard to believe it's happening here in walnut creek. >> reporter: on a regular date night in walnut creek with their baby despite the disturbing trend and relieved to see local officers and deputies working together to keep them safe. >> we are staying on the corner, there is definitely more police presence than we are used to. >> it's a welcome site. i appreciate it. makes everybody feel safer. >> reporter: exactly when the mayor law enforcement leaders were hoping for. a feeling of calm for the holiday season downtown. the sheriff department says the hi

in san francisco, tom jensen, nbc bay area news. >>> oakland, could soon require proof of vaccinations in places like restaurants and gyms. on tuesday, the oakland city council will take a look at a proposed ordnance to show proof of vaccinations. the ordinance would include gyms, senior centers and libraries. >>> paramedics and first responders have a deadline looming to be fully vaccinated come tuesday. they must have received two doses of the covid vaccine. a booster shot is not required. those that don't comply by the deadline have to wear masks around patients anywhere. a lot is happening in the past few days and hours in regard to covid. go to nbc.com/coronavirus. >>> a stabbing in the south bay in the middle of the day, leaves unanswered questions. a 17-year-old expects to recover after being stabbed in south san jose. this afternoon, the 4100 block in almaden passway. police secured two crime scenes in front of the safeway and a thrift store next to it. >> i've never seen anything like this before. i've been coming here for a long time. yeah, i feel safe here. >> they are looki

. >> reporter: tom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> peopleare still dig diagnose out after all that snow. this is new video showing sheriff's deputies doing welfare checks in neighborhoods inundated with snow. and the departmentof water resources today conducted the first survey of the season off highway 50. those early winter storms got us off toy great start in terms of the sierra snow pack. 202% of the average and the total is above average, to. >> as of this morning, our automated network is reporting that the state-wide snow pack is 160% of average to date. >> in spite of all the snow, california is still in a drought trchlt we may be above average this time, but we're still looking at about 50% average for the entire season. >> up next, san francisco shop owner fed up and demanding a change after thieves broke into his store for a second time. tonight what he wants done to make the city safer for businesses like his. >> plus, a new recall to tell you about. what could be wrong with your tela that you need to get fixed. >> when we join you tonight on the west coast, the record that

in millburn, tom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> we were talking about tahoe, a lot of people who celebrated christmas at lake tahoe, they're still stranded there tonight. a storm closed 50 and 80 again today. they're still closed. they're closed over the sierra. they're telling people to drive around the closures. the side roads are full of snow and haven't been cleared out. we saw locals digging out and helping neighbors do the same. >> it's rough, because when you come home to this many feet of snow, it's days and days of digging out. this was down to the deck last night, so this is just since last night. >> that is so much work. pg&e reports nearly 70,000 sierra customers are without power today, and mostly because of downed trees and power lines. >>> feel free to download our nbc bay area app so you can get weather forecasts for your neighborhood. also we have the latest with what's going on in the sierra and you can download that app for free. >>> in this week between christmas and new year's, we expect to see long lines of people returning unwanted gifts. this year we're seeing long l

nbc bay area's tom jensen at sfo which saw hundreds of delays and cancellations already due to worker shortages. >> reporter: this is the very reason airline officials have been lobbying the cdc for shorter quarantine times. they said that the longer quarantine times from people who have tested positive for covid led to massive worker shortages and they have been lobbying to reduce the isolation time to get people back to work faster. the president's top medical adviser, dr. anthony fauci, admitted getting essential workers back on the job was a consideration in this recommendation, but he defended it as a safe move. >> it is safe to do that. if you look at the chance of getting a transmission in that second half of that ten-day period, it's considerably less than in those first few days. so on balance, if you look at the safety of the public and the need to have society not disrupted, this was a good choice. >> but the association of flight attendants which represents 50,000 members questions that move. it worries that workers will be pressured to return to work too soon. there are a

. >>> today in the bay's tom jensen reports, the hopeful connect warm line will take calls from arounde region starting tomorrow and hopes to fill what organizers say is a gap in services. >> as many of us navigate another holiday season in the time of covid. many directed towards asian and african-american people. >> they have issues with reaching out for support, especially professional support. >> a professional therapists based in san josÉ and one of the organizers of the hopeful connect, a call-in line where anybody can get help for free after-hours when it's often most difficult to get a real person on the phone at night. >> people of color, we identify with the vulnerable population and we may end up feeling marginalized and may need access but do not know who to reach out to. >> it specifically feels with hate crimes and other issues they may encounter, and they will listen and get them to needed resources. there could be hundreds or thousands in the bay area that have not reached out to anybody after experiencing hate and racism. this gives them an outlet when many traditional