Another major hit to downtown San Francisco. Macys in union square is closing. What the retailer is saying about the future of that iconic location. We are two months into the year and already hundreds of cars have been stolen in antioch. We spoke with the new police chief. We will have the citys next steps. For months, the future of the Oakland Coliseum has been in limbo. Today, Community Members are speaking out claiming they are putting a stop to future development at that stadium. What they urge supervisors to do. We begin with a convicted murderer who could soon be free after 17 years in prison. The family is fighting to keep him locked up. They say the District Attorney blindsided them when he asked the parole board to let the killer go. They are asking the governor to stop it. Ian cole has been digging into this for us. Go ahead and take us through the background. This is a case that dates back to the fall of 2004. Some may remember it. Maxine was 17 and a softball player at Lincoln High School when she was murdered. Miller was convicted of Second Degree murder for beating, teasing and strangling and then dumping her body. He was sentenced to 15 years in life in prison. Late last year, miller came up for parole asking to be released from san quentin. What really caught off guard at the hearing was an assistant District Attorney spoke in favor of millers parole which the board granted. The family can you believe it or you the prosecutor never told them he would be supporting freeing maxine is killer who could be released as a next next week. Reaction was one of complete and utter shock. We had no idea the d. A. S office could take a position that we are in support of parole. Tough for the family. What is the family doing now . They are pleading with the only person who can overturn. Thats right. A spokesperson for the Governors Office reached out today and told us his office received the case from parole hearings. It will be reviewed carefully, but what it expand much after that. Jenkins appears to have been surprised by her assistance actions as well. The parole hearing was not handled how we expected such matters to be handled adding the assistant d. A. In question no longer works for her. The office is also conducting another review of the case which it will put to the governor. Each case up for parole review is thoroughly reviewed to ensure that the requester has been rehabilitated and the victim or their surviving family members are consulted before taking any position. That did not happen in this case. The new protocols put in place should prevent a situation like this from happening again. The family hopes it will help. Youll hear more coming up at 5 30. Its official. Macys is closing its iconic store in San Francisco union square. Thats 400,000 square feet of retail space. Macys announced this morning the company is closing 150 Stores Across the country. They called it a business edition. They have been there since 1947. The announcement is a blow to the efforts to revitalize union square and it means a piece of San Francisco history is also going away. The mayor downplayed the role of retail thefts in the city and how it may have played into this. We have seen a significant recline and crime. We know this has nothing to do with that decision, its really a larger business decision. Experts in the Retail Industry say retail crime had a lot to do with the decision to leave union square. Macys will stay open at least through this year as the Company Looks for someone to buy the building. Macys did send out a statement saying closing a store is never an easy decision. We are committed to supporting our impacted colleagues with opportunities wherever available across macys inc. And to communicating with transparency. Its only february and already hundreds of cars have been stolen so far. Neighbors are frustrated and the new Antioch Police chief says hes overwhelmed. Now they are asking for help. Jody hernandez has been following the story for us. What are you learning out there . Reporter i learned that the city is dealing with a pretty shocking surge and car theft. 220 cars have been stolen from the city of antioch so far this year. Thats 3 to 4 cars a day. It wasnt hard to find victims. We found two people who had their cars stolen right from the driveway. In both cases, the suspect smashed through the windows and then drove the cars away. The woman told us she actually heard the car start but by the time she ran outside it was too late. The second victim we talked to said he got up to go to work and found his driveway empty. In both of those cases the victims had surveillance camera and that didnt deter the suspects. They tell us they are upset. They are scared and feel violated and they are very frustrated. So many cars. I know you got a chance to speak with the police chief. Does he have a plan to tackle this . I did have a chance to sit down with the new interim chief. Today is his second day on the job. Hes being sworn in at city hall as we speak. He says hes been in a row when the last couple of days trying to wrap his head around all of the challenges that the city faces. One of those challenges is the spike in car thefts. Something hes definitely planning on tackling. He already has a request out to the regional stolen car Suppression Team and hes hoping that team is headed up and will be able to come in soon to help. In the meantime, hes urging folks to take their precautions. Use those devices for the steering wheel, air tag, surveillance cameras, Neighborhood Watch is. All of those are great ideas as the city continues to tackle this. Its going to take some time. Hes hoping to stabilize things. Hes got a lot of work ahead. Thank you for that preview. There was a very important and symbolic at San Jose City hall today. That celebrates local and international ties with ireland. This year marks the 100th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between United States and ireland. Its also the 38th year of san jose sister city relationship with irelands capital city, dublin. Delegation from dublin included its mayor were honored by san jose mayor and other Community Leaders with the raising of the irish flag. Two mayors expressed appreciation for the help the city gave to the other to become a hightech hub. Its lasted almost four decades now. We have come together, work on issues, share knowledge and we share enthusiasm to drive forward. The delegation will be meeting with a number of san jose arch programs to try to launch a broader arch culture in dublin and coming up at 6 00 robert handa will show how truly complex the relationship is between those two cities and why it is so important to the future of both countries. Community groups are claiming the athletics are holding the colosseum hostage from redevelopment and are demanding Alameda County step in and take action. The Oakland United Coalition is a group of community, labor and faith organizations accusing the oakland as of preventing development of colosseum by which they believe would bring more Affordable Housing and jobs to east oakland. They say the team isnt allowing other events to take place at the colosseum. The as bought 50 back in 2019. The city of oakland owns the other half. The Community Group wants the county to take back its share or get the as to the negotiating table and require them to have the community have a say in what happens in the soon to be abandoned property. We are allowing them to hold us hostage and prevent Economic Prosperity and wealth. Its not okay. Its not right. The community should have a say in what happens, not the colosseum partners, not john fisher and oakland athletics. They have no intention to treat this community right. To be completely honest, we are tired of Alameda County board of supervisors in action with the athletics ownership. We reached out to the board of supervisors for comment but have not yet heard back. Expose person for the as confirmed the organization is meeting with the African AmericanSports Entertainment group in the coming weeks to discuss the future of the colosseum property. The Entertainment Group launched last year, you might remember in hopes of redeveloping the site and bringing another sports team to the city. A mudslide forces a winery in south bay to close it for over a month. Now that winery is losing a lot of business. We spoke to the owner today about what is being done. College is for many, but not for everyone. Now apprenticeships are becoming more popular, opening new doors. How some student are preparing for a future career without a degree. We want to know what training story would you like to see later on in this newscast . You have some more time to vote for one of the stories right here. Krispy kreme sweet deal on leap day, case of hockey card sells for free . 7 million or eggo unveils breakfast themed rental home. What do i see in peter dixon . I see my husband. The father of our girls. I see a public servant. A man who served under secretary clinton in the state department. Where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. I see a fighter, a tenacious problemsolver. Who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. Because he sees a Better Future for all of us. Im peter dixon and i approved this message. Welcome back. The owners say this giant mudslide here has stranded them for two months. The owner of the vineyard says there driveway is submerged under several feet of mud and they had to build stairs in the hillside just to reach their home. The slide is taking a toll on their winery which has been closed since january 3rd. I got 25 employees out of work. Were out probably a quarter of 1 million in revenue since we began. We are suffering dramatically from a financial standpoint. The business is shut down entirely. He owns that winery and says the slide started on his neighbors property and he believes it poses a risk to motorists on highway 9. He said hes frustrated that caltrans hasnt done more to make the area safe. Caltrans told us the state agency isnt permitted to use public funds to resolve the active slide on private property. Lets turn to the winter storm. This year is expecting a significant amount of snowfall and dangerous conditions. How much snow are we talking about . The National Weather service is saying this could potentially be one of the strongest winter storms we have seen. I do want to show you how it looks right now. Its stunning when it comes to the weather. Before we get to that lets get to these graphics because the Weather Service posted these breakdowns of how much snow we can expect on this peak. Beyond that range it brings less certainty. The first one shows a breakdown of 50. It shows higher regulation starting around 2000 feet, 6 to 12 inches with some of the highest peaks above 6000 feet anywhere from 57 to 80 inches. State route 70 shows accumulation starting a little over 1000 feet. 1 to 3 inches, then as you can see it increases as we get higher up in the peak. If you plan to travel along 88 thats what you see here on your screen. Acute relations could start a little over 2000 feet with up to 89 inches at kirkwood above 7000 feet. Those wind gusts are going to be crazy no matter where you put it. Make sure to check out National WeatherService Sacramento page. They have an excellent breakdown there. Its a lot to take in considering how dangerous it could be. I bet there are warnings and advisories. Absolutely. Look at how pretty it is right now. Your window of opportunity would be today or tomorrow. Past that, impacts begin on thursday. Lets take a look right now at what we e saying. This is taking it all the way ugthursday, friday, saturday into sunday. So far, some of the major and extreme impacts are expected especially into friday. Twin bridges 99 inches. Kirkwood 99 inches. These are impressive totals. We talked about the warnings and advisories. We are talking about a major sierra winter storm. A blizzard warning goes into effect starting on thursday. The red you see highlighted there indicates we could see gusty winds upwards of 60 Miles Per Hour but even 100 Miles Per Hour. That means whiteout conditions, low visibility and extremely dangerous travel. The National Weather service used the word it could be life threatening. That is a key component there. Getting up there before thursday would be fine if you have a flexible schedule before getting back down. This is going to be a big winter storm. Do not travel after wednesday. The window will be too tight. Its not worth it. Thanks for the heads up. All things come in due time. Even when it comes to this. A stinky flower. A live look from inside the California Academy of sciences in San Francisco. Today we have been following this for the past couple days because you can see that is a rare corpse flower called mirage starting to bloom. Its been growing for five years now. Biologists say it smells like garlic, sweaty feet and death. A lot of people are stopping by to get a whiff. They will be for the next couple days or so because the bloom will only last for a couple of days. Its a special time for High Schoolers getting ready to graduate. While some are choosing college , thousands more are looking at apprenticeships. Heres the alternative path students are taking to get ready for a career. Apprenticeship program is working to help move bay area students forward. It comes as new data shows thousands are deciding college might not be for them. This comes at a time when the average University Student borrows more than 32,000 for tuition. Student loan debt here in the u. S. Is higher than ever at 1. 7 trillion. One of the major leaders behind this push for apprenticeship is a on, a company that offers students a salary while they pursue an associates degree. We spoke with sarah houck and she is one of the mentors to a number of students. We saw there was a need to opportunities for pathways for jobs to the future for those without college degrees. We knew if we didnt change it we are leaving hardworking talented people with diverse Life Experiences behind. Aion has apprenticeships in several cities including San Francisco. Hogan says her students have found success in their careers after completing the program. Make sure you join us early for today in the bay, we start things at 5 a. M. On air. You can watch nbc bay area news whenever you want or 24 seven on roku and other streaming platforms. You are a busy bee. Are you getting a lot of tax emails, spam calls . You know its election season. Silicon valley congressional candidate is using ai in his campaign not to fool voters or to reach voters but chat with them in a way we havent really seen before. Our Business Reporter shows us how it works. They are now behind bars. Federal Authorities Say the trail sold fentanyl, the opioid responsible for killing hundreds attempted to. We have the newest effort to crack down on crime in the city. Looking forward to it. Still to come, the top trending stories voted by you. Today marks a big step for the historic bay team. Its the first practice of the season. We tell you how the team is feeling before the first game next month. Democrats agree. Conservative republican steve garvey is the wrong choice for the senate. Our republican opponent here on this stage has voted for donald trump twice. Mr. Garvey, you voted for him twice. As your own man, what is your decision . Garvey is wrong for california. But garveys surging in the polls. Fox news says garvey would be a boost to republican control of the senate. Stop garvey. Adam schiff for senate. Im adam schiff, and i approve this message. Top trending stories voted by you on my instagram pole. If you love krispy kreme then you might leap at this. Theyre offering all customers a dozen glazed donuts for 2. 29 on thursday to celebrate leap day. You would still need to buy a regular priced dozen first to get that leap day deal, but if your birthday happens to be on leap day things get a little sweeter for you. Customers born of a very 29th will get a dozen glazed donuts for free. All you have to do is prove that its your birthday. Ill be posting links to the other stories you voted for on my instagram. The bay area first professional womens soccer team is gearing up for its inaugural season. The Bay Football Club started training at San Jose University today. This is a brandnew team. The women are busy learning about their teammates, finding a rhythm all as they run drills to prepare for the upcoming season. Players tell us having a pro women team in the bay area is already inspiring. I was once in that College Environment and i didnt have a clear vision of professional career and now that there is a womens professional team here in the bay area all the schools around here can see the women soccer programs can see that much more clearly than i got two. Shes the goalkeeper. She and the rest of the team will take on angel city fc at the Season Opener in los angeles on march 15th. Lets take a look at the weather once again. Practice weather for sure. Things will change, but especially for the sierra. I want to get into some impacts but right now we are sunny. 50, 60 degree weather. Really nice to enjoy some sunshine. Lets start about the impacts to come. Lets get a closer look right now at what we can expect heading into the next couple days. We have had this High Pressure keeping us dry and a little bit warm heading into the weekend, but we started pulling up. Another clear night will bring cold overnight lows yet again into early tomorrow morning. Some of these lows will dip into the 30s, but also could see some 30s down to the south bay. By the afternoon heading into tomorrow we are going to see temperatures warm up for thursday. Similar conditions. That cold air surging. This will bring that winter blast into thursday, friday, saturday. Thats going to mean for us not only sierra snow but also possible snow and some elevation above 2000 feet. What can we expect . For tomorrow, we remain dry but by thursday the storm will make its arrival. Rain chances continue into saturday. We are monitoring the wind conditions as well with 25 to 50mileperhour potential. This could bring potential for localized street area flooding. Low snow levels will be big 2 to 3000 feet potentially in that big sierra snow impact. We are talking upwards of some of those ridges. Impacts heading up to the sierra we will keep a close eye on the next couple days. Your forecast looks like this heading into saturday. We are talking temperatures into the 50s. We went from 70s this past weekend, 67 tomorrow and by the time you get to thursday and friday we are back down into the 50s. Low 50s with the cold by the time we see the saturday forecast really roll through. Join us at 5 00. We will have more details on how much rain and snow potential we will have coming up. Thank you for joining us. The 5 00 newscast is next and we are back in just two minutes. Overflowing with ideas and energy. Thats the San Francisco chronicle endorsing democrat katie porter for senate over all other options. Porter is easily the most impressive candidate. Known for her grilling of corporate executives. With deep policy knowledge. Katie porters housing plan has bipartisanfriendly ideas to bring homebuilding costs down. And the chronicle praises her ideas to end soft corruption in politics. Lets shake up the senate. With democrat katie porter. Im katie porter and i approve this message. A major blow to San Franciscos union square. Macys is closing this location. Mayor breed and macys are calling it a business decision. Using ai to reach voters the candidate reaching out in a unique way that could be a glimpse into our near future. Putting their expertise to use to help those less fortunate. The way some architecture students are making things a little bit easier for those living without a home. Good tuesday, the news at 5 00 starts now. Thanks for joining us. When it felt like the city was making a comeback a hit to downtown San Francisco. Macys is closing its iconic union square store. This comes as a blow for plans to revitalize union square and it means a piece of San Francisco history is going away. Reporter the news came as a shock for many locals and some foreigners here at macys union square. The mayor calls it a business decision made by the retail giant. Its been a part of the fabric of San Francisco for 77 years. Macys union square is set to close its doors. We are disappointed, but we also see it as an opportunity. The mayors decision as part of the announcement the company made this morning that its closing 150 stores nationwide. She downplayed the role and the rise in retail theft may have played. We have seen a significant decline in crime so we know this has nothing to do with that decision. Its really a larger business decision that macys is made