as wayne friedman reports the battle is just beginning. >> sometimes an image can be deceiving.may be the case at the reserves along the coast. it is peaceful, then quiet. >> i think it's an ecological disaster. >> pete blames the state department of fish and game and state parks. this week he and a group of concerned citizens filed suit against those agencies charging they have violated the endangered species acted they are mandated to protect and are ordering immediate compliance. >> the state has mismanaged this resource. it looks beautiful. but it's devoid of wildlife. >> state parks expanded the wetlands but cha changed the quality of the quarter. since then gates which should regulate the saltwater have long since rusted open endangering ferb water species. they include the guarder stake and the red-legged frog. >> if it's tidal, they can't exist. >> not as if this group wanted to bring action against the state. they're paying for much of this lawsuit themselves. but after 15 years of complaints they felt they weren't getting any solution. >> you complained for a long time

here's wayne friedman. >>reporter: he's a creature of the night.man who seeks an ideal in some of the darkest most unhikely conditions. >> middle of the night. early nature. late night. early morning. all good. >>reporter: that is why steven crawled on to a ledge near san francisco cliff house recently. he was armed with only a small camera. his target? a giant one. >> i always get people coming up to me and say what are you doing? it's dark. what are you taking a picture of. >>reporter: stuff like this. lit house on the california coast. one of the key is imagination certainly but not just in seeing the shot that is there at any given moment but imagining how that shot might look after 20 seconds. or 30 seconds. or 3 hours. or all night. >> when i take a night photo i don't always know what i'm going to get. since i like to take picture of stars for example you have to figure out how the stars are going to move in the sky because as a human you don't see them except where they are. you have to imagine the arc and path that they follow through. >>r

from the news room, wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >> down here on earth, this little corner of the globe >> very wet. we're looking at pretty heavy rain in the north bay. hasn't started yet in the south bay. a lot of rain in the east bay. a live look outside. golden gate bridge definitely wet. it's been wet for the past couple hours and the winds have kicked up across parts of the bay, especially in the hills. and, you know, we're looking at over an inch of rain today in the wet locations. a roof camera, pretty foggy and breezy southeast winds this morning. live doppler 7 hd. the cold front still well to the north and west of us and that's where we have the heavier rain, highway 1 and south of ukiah. in the north bay take a look from roaner park, pretty good rain from petaluma over into the east bay. not quite as impressive. the lighter rain's in walnut creek. san mateo on and off rain and light rain in palo alto and further south santa cruz and monterey not much going on yet but as we loop the past couple of hours, you'll notice the flow is from the northwest to the southeast. and the c

. >> wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >> airfares were expected to be higher this holiday season. now we know just how much more. according to farecompare.com, fares will be pup 17% around the holidays. on some routes prices are up 59% for travel in the days before thanksgiving and 40% to have christmas. website travels says for the best deals you should fly the sunday before thanksgiving and the friday after. >> with those fares we need a deal. here's one. google is playing santa claus to air travelers. the search company says it will offer passengers free wi-fi access when they fly on airtran, delta and virgin america. it will be available november 20th through january 2nd. normally wi-fi on those airlines cost up to $13. it has been slow to grow because people are reluctant to the pay, especially when they can't use laptops around takeoff and landing. >> thousands of gameers around the country rushed inside game stores to buy the hottest new release. union square in san francisco was no exception. about 300 gameers lied up to buy call of duty black opes launch. expected to pass

from san mateo county, wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >> beautiful shots there at the coast along san mateostill going to get a clear view? >> definitely. several days, in fact the week ahead looks nice. for mount tam right now. the higher elevations will experience very gusty winds. that's why we have a wind advisory in effect 7:00 this morning right on through monday morning. so temperatures have bottomed out in our north bay valleys where we're talking some 30s in napa. 43 santa rosa. good morning. kind of cool for you as well but elsewhere a little bit of wind held up numbers into the low 50s. san francisco 54 fremont. and we will be looking at some very comfortable readings at the surface and already warmer than we were yesterday. everywhere except napa where you expect the colder air to drain into the valley. 6 degrees warmer this morning in mountain view with 5 degrees warmer in san jose. the trend will be for much warmer and windier weather throughout the weekend with a gusty wind about 1,000 feet and 2,000 feet. the cooler days beginning on tuesday. but still looks dry right into n

here's wayne friedman. >>reporter: when the boats return to fisherman wharf this morning they carry enough fresh crab to make them salivate a river but the bounty may be deceiving. >> i hear there's a lot of crab in the ocean what from what i hear and not enough food for them. >>reporter: what is that skinny crab? if the rumor were true fishermen from half moon, san francisco and bodega bay struck the hall to mike luke at in santa rosa this morning. >> all a number game forever a processor. >>reporter: number as percentage of meat relative to the shell. percentage of recovery they call it. 25% the goal point. >> real issue. we kabing some crab 3 days ago and after we cooked them and opened up we were upset about the amount of crab birth. we were you present set how full speed limit of the crabs were and how some of the legs up in the pincher weren't as full of crab meat as they wanted to. >>reporter: even today a good firm squeeze revealed some shells that with not as firm as they should be indicating sligh

that story from if wayne friedman. if.reporter: if norma rockwell the american artist had been alive and in petaluma today he would have liked what he saw. >> i come from small towns in america but this one does it the best. >> reporter: it being veterans day. this event just one more tradition in agricultural small town grown large that never lost touch with its red, white and blue roots. >> i was born in 19 38 so it was armistice day parade. if. >>reporter: if you saw this in a mavie you would think too good to be true but this is the reality that lined kentucky street today. high school band. family. and kids. and the parent of kids who are over seas and serving right now. thank to businessman friedman, free flag for anybody who wanted one. >> because item a day to remember. >>reporter: along with soldiers to remember. >> well i like it because i can celebrate my uncle. >>reporter: your uncle is in the parade. >> not any more. because he died. >> reporter: but in petaluma today plenty of survivors remain. veterans of ir