tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> scientists across california are calling for improvements to the aging water infrastructure system. they say in the event of a major earthquake the system could collapse leaving californians without water. officials say damage estimates from this would sore to $40 billion in lost water supplies. they are calling on governor jerry brown to make it more earthquake safe. >> in a drought we need something that will secure our water supply, capture water during good years so during bad years we have something to go back to and rely on. >> scientists have been warning about the vulnerabilities of the levy system that delivers waters to 2/3 of californians. >>> from prison to pardon. a former inmate is getting is second chance and paying it forward. >> i have changed. >> the recognition he is getting now and what it has to do with the super bowl. >> new developments in the texting scanding involving san francisco police. the meeting underway right now and what it could mean for the officers involved. >> tracking the warm up heading our way. i will have the spec

ktvu's tom vacar will join us from the pg&e angle of it all. again, the gas is still flowing, but it does appear the immediate danger is over. more at 6:00. >>> a $14 million marijuana operation was uncovered in benicia, the second major bust in that city in the past three months. the most recent bust happened yesterday on stone road. that's where authorities found nearly 5000 plants. ktvu's john so saki, live from benicia, where people were stunned to see so many police responding. . >> reporter: it was green view home solution. >> it's an interesting name. clearly not a legitimate business. >> reporter: the solano county sheriff's office and the fbi moved in on thursday morning. >> i said, wow, it is something really going on! sheriff pulled up with a trailer. i said that looks like a drug bust going on. >> reporter: he was correct. deputies and agents found a huge marijuana growing operation with millions of dollars worth of product. >> there was over 4800 plants. there were several pounds of processed marijuana confiscated or seized during

ktvu's tom vacar was there as the public utilities commission hit them with the biggest fine in state history. >> reporter: 5 years ago it killed 8, injured dozens more and incinerated homes and destroyed pg&e's credibility and unearthed an unsavory relationship between the utility and the regulator. >> this explosion was a preventible disaster. that resulted from faulty record keeping, negligence over sight and a broken culture that looked the other way as pg&e prioritized profits over public safety. >> the decisions signal that we expect accountability and performance from the utilities that we regulate and from ourselves at the california public utilities commission. >> reporter: they can appeal but will it this time? >> we have to review the details but we do not expect to appeal the decision. >> reporter: for pg&e and the c.p.u.c. are personal criminal actions. she lost her husband, son and mother-in-law. >> i believe this is a case of criminal negligence. which lead to the death of 8 people. >> people should go to jail. who they are? i wouldn't be able to tell you. but the inves

ktvu's tom vacar is live near the bridge with the answer. how traffic is looking at this hour. >> reporter: what we see is the traffic continues to move. i reported at 5:00 p.m. all lanes were open. turns out it was only one. cars funneled beyond where we could see. it will be 6:30 p.m. before all lanes are opened unless they run into more delays. the next phase of this is settling up with the customers. many who lost packages in the blaze. >> reporter: best case, a thousand packages were burned in one trailer with possible more in the second trailer. maximum liability for loss or damage to a package, $100. after that the ups website says you must protect yourself. >> if the value exceeds $100 you can choose it declare a higher value by paying an additional charge. >> reporter: you could buy $50,000 coverage if you ship it from a ups owned customer center. if you go to a ups store or retailer a $1,000 maximum applies. $500 maximum if you dropped your package into a ups drop box. you have to be able to prove the value of what is inside. the r

ktvu's tom vacar is at the port of oakland tonight. there are still delays? >> reporter: there are. the port dispute was settled two months ago but it still hasn't been ratified. while operations are improved the fact is there is still presentee of containers thought yet delivered. >> reporter: they were getting down a bear shelves when we met them in january. lack of product caused canceled orders and financial stress for this firm. >> we have had a lot of loss, probably thousands of dollars a week waiting for the containers. >> reporter: some finally arrived. all at once causing a storage challenge in this small warehouse. >> they departed four months ago but a lot are still blocked. in the port. >> reporter: their stores don't import but all of their suppliers do and that is a problem. >> strollers. car seats. clothes. i still have to -- [ indiscernible ] >> reporter: the biggest problem, cribs and basinets. 4-5 month wait. [ indiscernible ] >> saying i am sorry we cannot deliver. >> reporter: they are working their way through a huge back log of containers, blamed continuing del

ktvu's tom vacar has a look at what customers can expect. >> reporter: this picture of the reservoir, 3/4 empty proves we are in real water trouble. >> our snow pack is gone. melted. >> reporter: they will declare a stage four drought. its highest drought emergency to adopt emergency rules likely to be this. july 1 customer's bills will be surcharged 25%. even with that, customers will have to cut use by 20% instead of 15. since the average house uses 246 gallons a day, a cut of 20 more gallons a day is needed. what about water hogs? using more than 1100 gallons a day will start collecting penalties. using more than 1476 gallons a day will pay the most. >> for those people, if they do not cut back you are looking at penalties of $100 a month. >> single family with landscape and irrigation customers. if they could cut back, then we think we can meet the 20% cut back. >> reporter: one strategy, choose to keep part of your lawn and also choose not to keep part. they will also exercise its right to buy additional water to ensure it will get through had summer. -- the summer. >> it is a tw

ktvu's tom vacar shows us how it works. >> reporter: the best territory straddles highway 4. the city of concord and the transportation authority are establishing stations. a test site for driverless cars. >> it is one of a kind. the largest facility of its kind in the world. >> the potential for all of the other interested transportation businesses to come here is very real. >> we are looking at between 7 and 7 automobile manufacturers and first year suppliers they build the electronics. >> reporter: it is about saving tens of thousands of lives every year and injuries. >> honda's gold is to allow a collision free society period. one fatality is one too many. >> reporter: most auto makers have research and development labs. they allow developers to draw on expertise on many. driverless car laws will be made, all of that makes this site one of the world's best. >> 5,000 acres. infrastructure, roads, buildings, bridges, tunnels. it is the perfect site to test this technology. >> everything we need simulate the environment. >> reporter: research and development captures the pub

live to tom vacar at 6:00 p.m.n. >>> new bill triggered heated debate over the issue of a airport's right to choose when it comes to -- parent's right to choose when it comes to vaccination. the measure would remove the personal belief exemption. the author of the bill is a doctor. he says he introduced the measure in response to outbreaks including the glaad disneyland measles outbreak. -- disneyland measles outbreak. >> you can talk about parental rights, the rights of the parents who choose not ovac su- - to vaccinate. what about the parents who choose, should they have to be subject to the danger? >> the measure cleared its first hearing this week and faces several more hearings before a vote on the senate floor. >>> the wait is almost over. hillary clinton is planning to announce this sunday that she will run for president in 2016. it would be the second campaign. the report on what is known about the announcement and her chalazia head. -- challenges ahead. >> don't you want to see woman president of the unite

tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >> the days may be number for the san jose family camp. ktvu's ann rubin is in san jose to explain why the camp is in jeopardy. >> reporter: the city counsel will take up the subject tomorrow and dozens of campers are expected to show up to show their support. >> reporter: they started bringing their children to the family camp at yosemite in 1978. >> this is special. it is the total package. >> reporter: they are worried that experience may be in jeopardy. >> it is scary. we think we will lose to. every year we think this could be the last. >> reporter: san jose owns the buildings but leases the land and that lease will be up next year. the question, will the city pay to extend it. >> it is unique. a special program that the city of san jose has that almost no other cities have. and that we can do this. we are recovering. and we are asking for another 20 year lease. >> reporter: last time the 80 is agreed to a 5 -- the city agreed to a 5 year lease. in 2010 they had oclose -- to close. rebuilding was the easy part. it is getting campers t

ktvu's tom vacar was at the board meeting i they voted -- where they voted for more water cuts. . >> reporter: east bay mud gets a lot of water from the snow melt. last few years have been a disaster. >> 2013 to 2013, the top four year is 2012 to 2015. >> reporter: july 1 bills will be surcharged 25%, the average bill of $48.60 goes to $60.25 and customers will have to cut use by 20%. since the average house uses 246 gallons a day, a cut of 20 more gallons a day is needed because the reservoirs are depleted. >> continue to drop. 2012, 13, and 14 and this year. >> reporter: if your house exceeds 984 gallons a day you will suffer higher rates through penalties and fines. flow restrictions and water cut offs offs and they reserve the right to enact more restrictions. the only way the increases can be reversed now is if more than half of the 400,000 rate payersage to it. otherwise -- payers object to it. otherwise they are in place. penalties, once they are passed, they stay in place. tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> the contra costa county water district board will discuss its plan tomor

reporting levering tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news -- live, tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> students left stranded after their clean closed and now they are trying to figure out thought means for them -- figure out what it means for them. what the u.s. department of education is planning to do and what it means for students. >> and rioting in baltimore, the governor declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard. he said thugs are trying to tear down the city. >> and mark ibanez will be here to talk about the golden state warriors. they have a week off before their make it playoff game. is that good or bad for the team? >> it warmed up today. you noticed it. patchy fog tonight. temperatures trend down, i will see you back here with the specifics. >>> in san francisco a muni rider is fighting for their life after being shot today without warning. the shooting happened about 12:30 p.m. this afternoon on the t third line. witnesses told police the suspect opened fire on someone and took off. the victim has been hospitalized with a life threatening wound. police are hoping wit

ktvu's tom vacar is live at oakland headquarters to explain all this. tom? >> reporter: even if you are not an east bay mud customer, pay attention because when east bay mud talks, other water agencies lessen -- listen. >> reporter: making hard decisions now incase next year is a dry one. 2015 has been a train wreck. >> driest january on record. followed by dry february,y. and april. >> reporter: april 1, the average bill goes to $60.25. beyond that customers will have to cut use by 20% instead of 15. since the average house uses 246 gallons a day, a cut of 20 gallons a day is required. water hogs, anyone using more than 984 gallons a day will collect penalties, higher rates and stiff fines. the only way the increases can be stopped, if more than 50% of customers object to them. the excessive use fines and penalties once passed are permanent. >> we are hoping for a wet winter next year but we are planning for the worse. every gallon of water saved this year will put us in better shape next year. >> reporter: many board members expressed concerns this may not

reporting live, tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >> it will take saving and planning. tom, thanks very much. >>> some people have criticized governor brown's mandatory water restrictions as weak on farmers. they are exempt. but farmers say the damage is already done. has already been done after four years of drought. farmers use 80% of the state's water for crops and livestock. they say they will struggle again this year because they won't be getting any water deliveries from the federal irrigation project. as a result, farmers say they are cutting down orchards, leaving more than 400,000 acres unplanted and causing people to lose their jobs. >> for those folks that say agriculture hasn't been impacted, i would disagree. explain to a farmer how they will pay their bills. >> and farmers who get supplies from the state water project will receive only 20% of what they requested this year. >>> students at san jose state gathered today to celebrate the life of the late form labor leaders, cesar chavez with a day of service. our chief photographer shows us how they honored h

as ktvu tom vacar reports commuters will have to be a little more patient. >> this is a result of thateo. >> the first two of 14 smart train cars made their debut this morning. they will reinstate rail service abandoned here generations ago. >> when people can travel safer travel easier, spend more time with your family, devote more time to work and the community it's a better place to live. >> the primary purpose is to provide an alternative to the commute. >> highway 101 is our marketing plan. >> table and airline type seatings as well as a snack bar. >> we're going to get you there in less than an hour as you drink lattes and have a wi-fi on your laptop. >> this transit system has a bit of a retro look. >> it gives you that old time feeling, and you know, operating-wise it's quiet. >> the smart train begins operating in the fall of next year. the half billion dollar system sees itself as a new way of promoting. >> connecting to the tourism it's going to be so huge for our businesses that i think those who are ready are going to be very happy for it. >> after more than a year of test

ktvu's tom vacar with why it has to do with a tax that was rejected by voters. >> few years ago when this agency was last down sized, there was no drought. now we have the worse. >> reporter: in a showing of massive apathy, 25% of the property owners voted on an assess although it keep the fire force in tact. --iesment to keep the fire -- assessment to keep the fire force in tact. . >> they tried this a couple times. tried to get it through. it didn't go. i was disappointed. >> reporter: now as the hot risky fire summer season looms, 2-5 stations will be close and four firefighters layed off. one fire house has already been moth-balled. >> we are seeing conditions with our grasses, like it is august, i mean, we are months ahead of where we would normally be. >> reporter: now with this vote, this leaves just 9 firefighters to defend a 250 square mile district, 100,000 people. >> i know it is messed up. families and all. we need the firefighters. it will be hot. that is all i know. >> i hope there is a way they can work this out where they can possibly do something either through grant

tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >> the governor is calling for a reduction of 25% in water use. other elements of the order, golf courses and large landscape spaces need to reduce water use. replace 50 million scare feet of lawn with drought tolerant landscaping and create a rebate program. and for the entire list of the restrictions go to www.ktvu.com. >>> to give you a sense of how dyer the drought is. we want to share before and after photos with you. this is what half dome looked like in 2011. blanketed with snow. snow all around. this is this march. barely any snow at all. now let's look at what is happening in the largest reservoir. you see all this water, look how close it is to the bridge. remember this picture. this is 2011. now look at how dry things are. this is from 2014. no water. look how high the bridge is up. now, this is a map, this dark red area, this here, the size of my hand, this is the driest part in the state. this was 2014. a year later, this is what it looks like now. remember it was my hand? now it is twice that size. that marks exceptional drought. we

tom vacar reporting live, thank you very much. >>> a bill aimed at preventing tuition increases. a committee approved the bill. stating the legislator intend to correct more money to the -- direct more money to the systems to prevent the tuition increase they approved for the school year. the bill would also add more slots for students and inyeas offerings. >>> today we learned -- increase officers. >>> today we learned jd smith passed away. he was a two time pro bowl running back and played for the 49ers. he retired as the team's second eall time leading rusher -- all time leading rusher. he passed away april 1. he was 82 years old. >>> police are searching for a man and a woman caught on surveillance video mugging a woman. the video was shot saturday in oakland's diamond neighborhood. a 82-year-old woman is standing when two people grab her purse. the victim says the one wearing a white cap was a woman. the victim tries to get her purse back but they speed off and they drag the victim a few feet. a neighbor recorded the incident and explains what happened next when the daughter

ktvu fox 2 news tom vacar gone through the scores. hospitals here did not do too bad? >> reporter: california based consumer watch dog released a hospital report card today funded by an employer's non- profit organization called the leapfrog group. >> reporter: hospitals were rated on 28 criteria involving patient care practices and patient outcomes. the record for california hospitals is abysmal. 40% of the state's hospitals earned c, d or f, but here in the bay area only 29% had scores of c or lower and did much better than the state over all. no bay area hospitals got an "f." but two got "d." contra costa and chinese hospital were down graded to "des" because they had too many collapsed lungs and too many accidental cuts and tears to patients in surgery. medical airers are the third leading cause of death in america behind heart disease and cancer. as many as 440,000 annual deaths occur in the u.s. due to preventible events in hospitals. so how did your hospital do? go to our website. tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >> thank you. >>> more than 9 million pounds of beef a

ktvu's tom vacar looked at solutions that pretty much everybody should be considering at this point. >> reporter: a water saving survey can pay off. time to take one. >> reporter: yesterday the head of the department of water resources said the state's new statewide mandatory water rationing boil down to a stick and carat approach -- caret approach. >> in the end if individuals and agencies don't perform there will be repercussions. >> reporter: the water washingtons will determine how to approach -- agencies will determine how to approach the cuts. >> measured against 2013 before the drought began. >> they want us to save water. what can i do? i came here where i have come for many years to do stories, what i learned is there is plenty you can do because technology changed. >> we are more refined with water savings. now they have gotten it down, the standard on saving water on shower heads and faucets. >> the average water use is 55 gallons per person per day. let's cut that. first, low flow kitchen and bath room sink fixtures. but it could be costly. that is why for a few bucks you

tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >> we will see what happens. thank you. >>> southern california is moving to cut supplies for 19 million customers. a committee voted today reduce the water it provides by 15%. the board will vote tomorrow. some want 20%. the water district serves los angeles, orange, san diego, riverside, ventura and san bernardino counties. >>> major traffic problems tonight in san jose. looking that problem right here. highway 101 and the southbound lanes of 680 are shut down in that area because of a man who is threatening to jump off an over crossing that is 100 feet in the-air. this is vid -- in the air. this is video from earlier. the man's family and friends are there. the situation all began about 1:00 p.m. this afternoon and it is still going on. keep that in mind if you are in that area. as you can see a massive traffic problem where 280, 680 and 101 connect in san jose. >>> a center that helps troubled teenagers is underfire. >> saved my life. >> how the community is fighting to keep it open and why the operators say

tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> our chief meteorologist bill martin was outside on the roof at ktvu.ugh. >> i slept up there before. [ laughter ] >> have you been out -- [ talking at the same time ] >> absolutely. >> one of the -- have you been out there -- >> long time ago. [ talking at the same time ] >> we used to kayak across, go out to white cliffs and camp. camp with the elk. and the sound they make in the morning, the male -- most beautiful sound. if you haven't out to point reyes. park your car, walk out, and you will see the beautiful elks. 82 santa rosa today. 82 napa. i am impressed you were out there. did i tell you to do that -- >> no. i love west marin. it is like a piece of evan in the bay yea -- heaven in the bay area. [ talking at the same time ] >> bet you didn't camp out there -- >> no way. no. >> ridge of high pressure set up. it is broad. it will be hard to break through. not expecting rain in the five- day forecast. there is something, though. looks like it wants to break through tuesday night, wednesday. something. 80 fairfield. upper 60s tomorrow around is san

reporting live, tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. >> tom, thank you. a new report is suggesting that climate change poses a major economic risk to farms and coastal businesses in california. the study was commissioned by a group called the risky business project. it says without immediate action to deal with climate change, increasing temperatures will drive up energy costs and take a tremendous toll on real estate along the coast and bays. >> california is looking at, of our current coastal property, we're looking at, you know, up to $10 billion of the current property being under water by mid century. an additional 10 billion at high tide. >> the risky business project is led by former new york major, michael bloomberg, and paul who lives here in the bay area. former santa clara supervisor avoided jail time today after he admitted that he was responsible for campaign mail fraud. he was sentenced to 360 hours of community service. he admitted creating a campaign flier to help a friend who was running for a city council seat in san jose. that flier ins

tom vacar, thank you. >>> stay with ktvu and ktvu.com for continuing coverage on this breaking news. we're also posting updates on twitter, facebook, and on our new mobile app. >>> now to a multimillion dollar drug operation uncovered in the bay area. authorities say they found nearly 5000 marijuana plants inside a building in benicia. as ktvu's john sasaki tells us, today's bust comes just three months after authorities found another illegal growing operation in that same area. >> reporter: a nondescript building on stone road in benicia housed what was called green view home solution. >> it's an interesting name. clearly not a legitimate business. >> reporter: the solano county sheriff's office and the fbi moved in on thursday morning. >> i said wow, it is something really going on. sheriff pulled up with a trailer and i said, wow, looks like a drug bust going on. >> reporter: troy moore was correct. deputies and agents found a huge marijuana growing operation with millions of dollars worth of product. >> there was over 4800 plants. there were several pounds of processed marijuana