Transcripts For KTVU KTVU 20240704

Soon. Ski resorts, Emergency Responders and locals are bracing for whats expected to be the biggest snowstorm of the year so far in the sierra ktvu erasmus here in studio to explain the warnings and advice from emergency officials, and we can see these these conditions changing minute by minute. Yeah. And you just showed that live picture of highway 50. Were going to show you how different it is over on interstate 80. You know, those are the two main ways to get up to the sierra from the bay area and interstate 80 at Donner Summit is closed. This is showing the eastbound direction. The closures on the westbound direction, and they are turning traffic around at kingsville. And thats because of a big rig that flipped over. That happened in 9 00 this morning. The chp does not expect to open this part of interstate 80 until 1 00 or later. This afternoon. Its the kind of thing the chp is worried about with this major storm now underway in the sierra , the wind coming in with this storm is already intense. Shaking webcams overlooking olympic valley, palisades Mountain Operations Team reported on social media. There were already seeing wind gusts of 100 miles an hour at their peaks. All of our Upper Mountain lifts are closed. Excavators were already at work in their parking lot, clearing away snow. This excavator is right behind me. Hes actually clearing the snow. Uh, were actually going to be trucking out this snow to make room for this next batch of snow thats going to be coming out. That next batch of snow could be as much as eight to even ten feet in some spots in the next 72 hours. Theres going to be a lot of snow to remove. Lets just imagine we get a fraction of what theyre saying, and its three feet. Thats still a lot of snow to move off the roadways in the city, out in the county, especially caltrans up on those passes. If you dont have to travel, dont. And im really going to be blunt when it comes to it. Um, your safety is number one. And if we cannot control the weather, which we cannot, uh, its one of those things where if you can control not being on the road and not being part of the problem, then definitely stay home. People who live in the sierra stocked up at grocery and Hardware Stores this week, preparing to possibly hunker down for several days. Ive actually got a few texts already from spectrum from liberty saying prepare for Power Outages. But once the storm clears and the powder settles, conditions on the mountains will be ideal. Were a ski resort. We love it, but were going to be open all the way up until memorial day, you know . Dont get that powder fever to get up here. Uh, that well have plenty of it for the rest of the season. Yeah, plenty of time to hit the slopes in the next couple months. But for now and for this weekend, the overall message is do not go to the sierra. Do not drive there. The window to do that safely has now closed. Now that this blizzard warning is now in effect and roadways like interstate 80 closed, shut down right now at Donner Summit in the westbound direction because of that big rig crash that happened earlier this morning. Gasia and andre, well send it back to you. All right. On the other side of this. Now, the California Water Resource Department held its third snow survey of the season and showed promising results here. The snow survey started at ten this morning at the phillips station, off highway 50, in the sierra. Officials recorded 48in of snow there, about four feet. That sends the statewide snowpack average to 80, a big increase from just a month ago when it was just 58. The Sierra Snowpack makes up about a third of californias water supply. People who live in the sierra are stocking up on supplies for the weekend. Grocery and Hardware Stores are seeing brisk sales. Popular items include food, warm clothing, winter boots, snow shovels and batteries. Mount hardware and sports. And truckee is helping People Living and visiting the sierra prepare for the storm. Its the gamut. So were, uh, shovels tire chains, uh, ice melt generators, lanterns, flashlight batteries, um, anything that you can think of that somebody would need for a power outage or a severe storm , and they are coming in for it. Well, longtime residents are warning outside visitors to stay away. They say this weekend is not the time for casual visit, as the roads will be a mess if the area receives even half the amount of snow thats forecast. A High School Student from napa is in the hospital recovering from serious injuries that left him without the use of his legs. After a weekend snowboarding crash. Family members say 15 year old Blake Mendenhall spinal cord was severed still, they say his positive outlook is helping them all, even if somethings going wrong or getting hurt. What i realized from how much pain and suffering ive been through is to just never give up, never back down. And the way he handles it completely changes the way i start to think about it. And he lifts me up. Blake is in a hospital in reno after he crashed into a tree while snowboarding sunday afternoon at a tahoe ski resort. He is a talented athlete whos excelled at a number of sports at napas vintage high school. He was just awesome as a coach, whether it be football, golf or soccer. You wish he had like 20 blakes, you know, with that kind of attitude on your team, you guys back in napa, blake will be getting care at Craig Hospital in colorado, which specializes in spinal cord injuries. May take months before he can go back home to napa. New at noon. The mass shooting suspect accused of killing seven halfmoon bay farm workers was in court this morning in redwood city for arraignment. A grand jury indicted chinlung zhao and seven on seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. This morning, the attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Zhao also waived his right to a speedy trial. Prosecutors say the mass shooting in january of 2022 at two Half Moon Bay Mushroom Farms happened after zhao had an argument with a coworker. The judge ordered zhao to return to court in april to set a trial date. He remains in custody without bail. President biden and former President Trump are visiting the u. S. Mexico border today, as immigration remains a top issue ahead of the 2024 election. President biden arrived in brownsville, texas, about 30 minutes ago. The former president is in eagle pass, some 300 miles away. Both areas have reported high concentrations of border crossings, as foxs Connor Hanson tells us, both mr. Biden and mr. Trump have different takes on how to solve the border crisis. President biden and donald trump making dueling trips to the southern border on thursday, as polls show immigration becoming a top issue. For voters ahead of the 2024 election. An exponential growth is definitely up for alarm cause for concern both the president and former president are meeting with local leaders and border agents. Trump is an eagle pass where the Border Patrol apprehended more than 2000 migrants in recent days. 300 miles away. Biden is visiting the quieter city of brownsville, where 46 migrants have shown up in the past five days. People think, oh, theres its just mayhem, right . Its mayhem. And its really not, um, at least not brownsville. The white house says the president will be renewing his calls for Congressional Republicans to pass more border funding. Republicans rejected it. Why did they do that . They did that at the behest of the former president. Who donald trump, who asked them to not take it up, but trump and other republicans blame biden for the crisis, arguing open border policies have allowed millions of Illegal Migrants to enter the country. Joe biden is catching them and releasing them into the country, and its caused an absolute catastrophic effect, and it will continue illegal border crossings from mexico fell last month after record highs in december, but officials fear those figures could rise again in brownsville, texas. Conor hanson, fox news. The four finalists for the job of Oakland Police chief will be at a public forum tonight, but the person in charge of making the decision wont be there. Well tell you why. Coming up , lawmakers squared off with the secretary of defense today over his secret hospital. The reason why some lawmakers say this put the military chain of command in jeopardy 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. State. According to court documents, the kidnaping was set up by the mothers cousin. Investigators say a man posed as a Delivery Driver burst through the door and punched the mother in the face. He and another intruder ziptied the mom and her two year old child and taped their mouths shut. A neighbor who didnt want her face shown talked about what she saw and heard that day. She was asking me to please help her to please let them know, to call the police. And she didnt speak any english. Um, they just moved here a week ago. There was just like, so many things that she wanted the police to know that she felt like, played a huge role in her getting her baby back. The fbi and state patrol got involved through their investigation. When officers found the suspects and the baby. The baby was not hurt. More than 100 palestinians were killed today while waiting in line for humanitarian aid in gaza city. Gazas Health Ministry says hundreds of others were hurt. Now President Joe Biden says the us is still trying to determine what happened in gaza city today, and said the strike will complicate ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire. The death toll from the israelhamas war has now surpassed more than 30,000 people, according to health officials. Closer to home, lawmakers questioned the secretary of defense today for waiting three days to tell President Biden about his hospitalization back in january. Republicans say this put the military chain of command at risk, especially as tensions were rising in the middle east. Foxs Rebecca Kaster reports. During secret hospital visits in december and january, secretary of defense lloyd austin was mia, and lawmakers in washington are demanding answers. Its totally unacceptable that it took three days to inform the president of the United States that the secretary of defense was in the hospital and not in control of the pentagon. Austin was hospitalized for complications from Prostate Cancer surgery. He chose to keep his diagnosis private, a decision he now regrets. I should have promptly informed the president , my team and congress and the American People of my of my cancer diagnosis. An internal review of the incident, released monday concluded that senior officials had no ill intent in not telling the white house about austins condition, but lawmakers are still concerned the military chain of command was put in jeopardy in question. Whether austin is actually at the helm. The chain of command doesnt work when the commander in chief doesnt know who to call. There was no question who was in charge in that time. The transfer was done in accordance with the law. Austin was put in the icu on january 1st, but did not transfer authority to his Deputy Defense secretary, kathleen hicks, until january 2nd. The president wasnt notified until january fourth, the same day the us conducted an airstrike in baghdad. And the big issue for me here is either the president is that aloof or you are irrelevant. The president is not aloof. At no time during my treatment or recovery were there any gaps in authorities. Several top republicans, including former president donald trump, have called for austin to be removed. But President Biden has stood by his defense secretary in washington, Rebecca Kaster ktvu, fox two news. All right, turning back to news locally now and that is the weather ktvu meteorologist mark tamayo is tracking the rain thats moving into our area. Mark. Yeah thats right. Some light to maybe some moderate rain moving into portions of the north bay already. But things will be changing later on today as the main front comes on board. Not a major storm, but this is kind of setting up the pattern that could bring in some more thunderstorms as we head into friday and into a saturday. So the storm impacts. As you can see, once again, weve been focusing on the rainfall. Some gusty winds. Winds could be over 30, maybe approaching 40 miles an hour and definitely a drop off in the snow levels here in the bay area, possibly down to around 2000 2500ft. So heres a look at the forecast model showing you the rainfall expectations. And then look out toward the sierra. So heres the pause through 4 00 tomorrow afternoon. Those numbers adding up. But look what happens beyond friday afternoon. Those numbers really going up. And this is just through the weekend. So this is essentially today friday saturday. And its a sunday. Look at those snowfall totals. Really get jumping up in the mountains. So rain returns today. It is a cold pattern. And of course weve been talking about the sierra setting up as well with a blizzard warning in place right now as we fly across out to the east and showing you this. So major accumulations with with the winds gusting over 75 approaching 100 miles an hour for the highest peaks of the sierra. So look at that 5 to 12ft. That would be a lot just within a week. But keep this in mind. Were essentially just talking about today, tomorrow and into saturday. So thats a kind of a short window, a small window to get all that major snowfall as a result, as you would guess, a blizzard warning is in place until 10 a. M. On sunday and the Snowfall Forecast could be around 5 to 12ft. As weve been talking about the conditions out there and the roadway travel could be impossible over the next couple of days, showing you this, the satellite and the radar coming in closer to the bay area. Radar right now. Still some green to show you kind of scattered around portions of the region. As you can see up in the north bay, up towards santa rosa, closer to fairfield, and then in the south bay, it looks like some activity closer to a Santa Cruz County and a few scattered showers, but the main front still has to get here and that will probably be later on this afternoon heading into the evening hours. In fact, here is that front showing up on the satellite and behind it. Its called the cold front for a reason because we have some cold air tucked in behind it. That will definitely be moving in. Heres our live camera. This afternoon, looking out toward the oakland estuary. Lots of cloud cover and some raindrops on the camera lens. Current numbers in the 50 and the lower 60s. Big pattern change as you can see, this is what we have been watching develop over the next over the past day or so. And this will be definitely moving in with the rain and snow in the forecast. So here we go with the 4 00 hour this afternoon. Theres that front coming on board. The constant will be of course out toward the sierra. Major accumulations. This is tomorrow morning. Whats interesting later in the day friday well be off and on rain showers tomorrow. But the main activity could pick up friday evening, so this could lead to some thunderstorms, some heavier downpours, maybe some hail. And then saturday, still some off and on, scattered showers, swinging through the region. And that will continue into sunday as well. So temperatures this afternoon not so. Not like yesterday a big, big time cooling for today only in the upper 50s to the 60s. Periods of rain. As you can see for your friday showers and thunderstorms into saturday off and on. Scattered showers in a sunday and a slight chance into early next week. So this is just the beginning of what will be a very unsettled, cold, damp pattern here in the bay area. Mark. Thank you. Coming up, celebrating the legacy of black cowboys here in the bay area. Still to come, a look at a rodeo tradition thats rooted in the bay area 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. Air wick. How far would you go to set the ambience of your space . Try the air wick way with air wick essential mist. Infused with natural essential oils to fill your moment with immersive fragrance for up to 45 days. Now thats a breath of fresh air wick. This van just hit me out of nowhere. I thought i was dead. After the accident, i was in a lot of pain and i decided that i needed to get an attorney because i could not work. I called Jacoby Meyers they had their own dream team for every need, every area. They took care of me like a queen. I would recommend you call Jacoby Meyers they really went to bat for me. I launched our campaign at this union hall. Lets go win this thing then we hit the road and never stopped. You shared with me your frustration at working harder to barely get by and afford a place to live. Your fears for our democracy and freedoms and your dreams for yourself, your family, and the future. It is not too late to realize those dreams. Im adam schiff, and i approve this message because together we can still get big things done. The united Irish Cultural Centers keepers of the steps is presenting an irish dance performance, and theyll also have an exhibit of irish dance costumes from the 1960s through today. Its scheduled tonight at 6 00 at the San Francisco historical society. Now to a tradition that celebrating its 40th anniversary, this year, and one that his bay area roots on this final day of black History Month , ktvu Jana Katsuyama takes us to the east bay ranch that hosts the bill pickett invitational rodeo tour, celebrating the often overlooked legacy of our nations black cowboys. When jeff duvall comes to rally ranch in castro valley, its like stepping into history. The rodeo came here in 1984, and raul ranch, and weve been here ever since. And hes not talking about just any rodeo at the bill pickett rodeo. The theme of the bill pickett invitational rodeo is the greatest show on dirt. Because because we are literally doing everything on dirt. Its a National Touring rodeo for black cowboys and cowgirls, now celebrating 40 years. Even though one out of every four cowboys back in the west was an African American, we were left out of the history books. Duvall manages the oakland event, which was founded by one time berkeley resident lou vashon. Vashon loved rodeos, but he noticed one thing was that he didnt see any blacks, any black cowboys, any black cowgirls, any black participants in the rodeo at all. Vashon did some research and thats when he discovered bill pickett, a black cowboy born in texas in 1870 and pound for pound, was one of the greatest cowboys the world has ever known. Duvall says pickett was the inventor of whats now known as steer wrestling. But for so long in american society, blacks could not ride in all white rodeos and were all but invisible in american movies and history. The only western people that we saw were, of course, nonAfrican American. You know, roy rogers, gene, gene autry, an america that denied an equal place for black cowboys in history and for black americans who grew up watching those film depictions of the west being 75 years old, i came through the jim crow period. I remember going to the movies where we had to only be upstairs. We could never be in the main part of the movie theater. Louis vuitton decided to change that narrative and form the rodeo he named after bill pickett. The rodeo has grown, so has interest in the history of black cowboys. At the African American museum and library at oakland, there is an entire archive of photos and documents being preserved showing black cowboys going back to the 19th century. Their stories are so often neglected and not collected, and become lost. Now that history and the dream of the son, who died in 2015 is riding strong. Weve been to 33 cities across the country. We right now do, um, two shows across the state. Margo wade ledrew another rodeo staff have expanded to National Tv Broadcasts and say theyre determined to keep the show on the road. We want to continue this legacy for 50, 60, 70 years a living link to black history, to American History lovers on as a visionary. Even when even for looters. See what is the rodeo is today . I think he would well up in tears. New generation of black cowboys and cowgirls taking up the reins, selling, creating a shared all American Heritage in oakland, Jana Katsuyama. Ktvu waing for you online. Much more head to ktvu. Com. Slash back his black history to see our series of reports from the month of february. Firefighters are scrambling to contain one of the largest wildfires in texas history. A look at some of the destruction as texans hope for help from Mother Nature. Before four finalists for the Oakland Police chief job will be at a public forum tonight. But the person in charge of making the decision wont be there. While mayor shengtao says shes skipping the meeting next Fisher Investments its easy to think that all Money Managers are pretty much the same, but at Fisher Investments were clearly different. other money manager different how . You sell High Commission investment products, right . Fisher Investments nope. Fisher avoids them. other money manager well, you must earn commissions on trades. Fisher Investments never at Fisher Investments. other money manager ok, then you probably sneak in some hidden and layered fees. Fisher Investments no. We structure our fees so we do better when clients do better. That might be why most of our clients come from other Money Managers. At Fisher Investments, were clearly different. 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. Wet where you are. And this is really just the beginning. Lets head back to our weather center. Check in with meteorologist mark tamayo. As youre kind of fine tuning, when the greater impact will roll in. Yeah, thats right, several phases with this pattern setting up right now, we have some scattered rain which has been focused up in the north bay. The front moves in later on this afternoon. Behind that front we have some cold, unstable air that could trigger some thunderstorms as we head into friday and possibly saturday. Just updated these rainfall numbers over the over the past 24 hours. You can see san rafael up to 0. 28, santa rosa 0. 20, napa 0. 11, and not so much in San Francisco. So you can see it to. 01. Cold system, as you can see for today, right on through sunday and rainfall projections could be around one to possibly over three inches. That would be up in the north bay for the coastal hills. And cold enough. The here were talking about low snow levels, possibly down to around 2000ft or so. Our live camera showing you showing you the dramatic clouds looking out to the Golden Gate Bridge up in the north bay as well. We have some gusty winds over 30 approaching 40 miles an hour already today. Its already a very active radar, as you can see here in the bay area, but especially up to our north. And the snowfall has started to pile up in the sierra. Heres the radar right now, santa rosa is reporting some steady rain, at least for the 12 00 hour. As we move the maps. Not as much activity as you can see. Closer to maybe the Santa Cruz Mountains. Here we have some scattered rain being picked up with their radar beam, but a lot of energy, a lot of cold, unstable air up to our north and that will move in over the next couple of days. Well have more on that with your full update in a little bit. People in the bay area are being told not to drive up to the sierra this weekend because of the incoming storm. Yeah, but some avid skiers and snowboarders left early today to try and beat the worst Sports Basement in berkeley was filled last night with shoppers making some of the last minute purchases they needed before heading to tahoe. While they know the risks on the road, they could not pass up a chance to hit the slopes for possibly record snowfall. Well see how much of it stays open. Um worse comes to worse. Well just ski the lower mountain. I got sleeping bags, hand warmers, lanterns, flashlights, a bunch of nonperishable food, a bunch of water, anything that i can survive on for at least 24 to 36 hours. A ski resorts are preparing for slippery roads, reduced visibility and closures on mountain passes. But some resorts, such as palisades tahoe, plan to stay open until at least memorial day because of the expected snowfall. Pga is preparing for the storm, says it expects the wind, rain and snow to cause Power Outages. Pga crews are in places an area where theyve had trouble in the past due to debris and snow. Pga also has helicopters and snowcats ready if needed. Customers in remote areas are being warned. Extended Power Outages are possible. Just a reminder here. You can also download the ktv weather app to stay up to date on the storm. Youll find interactive radar the hourly forecast. You can also use the app to send us your photos and video of rain or snow you might see. And we might show them here on the air and online on. Well, happening today, the four finalists for the job of Oakland Police chief will introduce themselves to the public at a special meeting of the Police Commission. But mayor shengtao will not be there. The mayor sent a letter to the Police Commission in which she called the form detrimental to attracting the best candidates. Tao says since december, she has met with several Law Enforcement leaders nationwide who have shown interest in the job. But the mayor says they dropped out after learning they may need to appear in a public forum with other candidates. Now, taos letter reads in part, quote a form identifying candidates places those individuals at unnecessary risk with their current employers. It may also force oakland to enter into a premature bidding war with the individuals current employer, if they feel strongly about retaining them. I dont know if anybody inside wants the permanent job because they see the politics all the things that go on there. This job is almost impossible to do. Its going to take a unicorn to do it that somebody has got to be incredibly special , unique, charismatic, great with the community. Chronicle reports tao courted two people in Law Enforcement for the vacancy. One is a Current Police chief and the other is a former police chief. Both from midsized cities. Now, each person passed when they heard about this forum, she said. The Police Commission submitted these four names to the mayor. All of whom have red flags. Assistant city Cincinnati Police chief lisa davis. Reports indicate she has repeatedly been passed over for cincinnati chief. Former lubbock, texas, police chief floyd mitchell. He left after his department was accused of not answering 911 calls. Luis molina is an assistant deputy mayor for Public Safety in new york city. Hes accused of failing to improve city jail conditions, and former San Leandro Police chief abdul. Excuse me. Pridgen who was accused of violating Department Policy and who tao rejected when he was on the commissions first candidate list. Tonights Police Commission meeting is open to the public. People can also participate through zoom. It starts at 630. Muni ridership in San Francisco is on the rise. Many see it as a promising sign after it took a major hit during the pandemic. Ktvu Bailey Ocarroll is in the city with more. Muni ridership in San Francisco is up 25 compared to last year. I still get complaints from 49 venice riders that they are arriving at their appointments too early or theyre missing their stop because they look down at their phone and the bus is moving. So fast that they are missing their stops. Many people, like tyler, say they rely on muni to get to work every day, five days a week. The Transit Agency says weekday commuters were really the backbone of their ridership before the work from home wave hit, so they had to pivot, the agency says they focused on three things cleanliness, safety and reliability. Weve made muni faster and more frequent by investing in transit priority over the last four years, we have built more than 25 miles of new transit only lanes and other transit priority treatments, according to muni officials. They have added staff and cameras at stops and in busses and on light rails to deter crime. Theyre also ensuring stations, stops and vehicles are clean. On top of this, delays are down more than 75, so we asked muni riders how they feel. Majority waiting for the 49 bus tell us that they dont feel safe on this line. Theres a lot of People Mental Health problems, so theyll get in the bus and then they sometimes they will even threaten you if you look at them. So it could be it could be dangerous. Many said their level of safety depends on the time of day and the bus line that theyre on. Theres some lines that are less busy, like bus one. Usually its a little bit better, but 49 or bus 38, usually its very busy. And this the same problems happen. One thing everyone agreed on busses becoming more and more crowded, and muni says riders are increasingly happier with their service. Overall satisfaction for muni riders is up almost 10 in San Francisco. Im Bailey Ocarroll, ktvu, fox two news. Millions of dollars are coming to transit agencies across the state to help improve Public Transportation in california. Will receive about 849 million in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law. Its part of a 9. 8 billion announced today to transit agencies across the country. That is the largest investment in Public Transit in the u. S. In history. The government says the funding will help transit agencies maintain and operate trains, busses and ferries. Well also be used to upgrade stations and train tracks and provide access for seniors and riders with disabilities. The clock is ticking for billionaire backers of a planned new city in Solano County to gather signatures for a November Ballot measure. Todays the deadline for the Solano County council to give the Ballot Initiative a title and summary. After that, the California Forever campaign will have just two months to gather 13,000 signatures for verification. Asian Developers Want to build a city that would include 20,000 new homes near Travis Air Force base, the plan has generated opposition among some local residents and lawmakers, who are critical of the secrecy that surrounded it, and a perceived lack of details. San Francisco City leaders say theyre working to eliminate red tape to make it easier for prospective buyers to scoop up the Macys Union Square property. The Flagship Stores among 150 macys locations is scheduled to close within the next few years, as the retailer refocuses on smaller spaces and luxury brands, the city may convert the 400,000 square foot site into multiple uses, including housing, office space and a nonprofit site. One thing i would think about is subdividing the space and inviting some of those activities and users that have fled the city in in, you know, the last decades, like nonprofit organizations, ngos, artists, arts organizations and trying to track them into that space. Macys says it does not plan to close the store this year. It could remain open for another year or two until the property is sold in berkeley. Officials at uc berkeley say it cost almost 8 million to secure and take control of peoples park last month. Much of that was spent on building a perimeter around peoples park, 2. 9 million spent on that alone. Cal also spent almost 4 million on Law Enforcement, with 1. 7 million spent on police overtime. Another 1 million was spent on services for people who lived in peoples park. The amount does not include the bills from other Police Departments that helped uc berkeley regain control of the park. The Oakland Coliseum has a new sign now that the rooted in oakland sign has come down, is the as president dave kaval, shared photos of the new sign on social media. It shows historic moments for the team, including a number of walk off celebrations from recent seasons and, of course, oaklands own rickey henderson. Campbell says this season will be a celebration of the teams 50 plus years in oakland, a ferocious wildfires tearing through the texas panhandle. Firefighters are hoping Mother Nature will step in to help them fight multiple fires. Casey stegall reports from dallas. A disaster declaration is now in effect for 60 counties in texas. As the wildfires here continue to spread, hundreds of firefighters are now fighting multiple blazes, including the Smokehouse Creek fire. At least one person is confirmed dead, while dozens of others are now homeless after watching their communities burn. I think everyone is still really in shock. I mean, literally the entire everything around the town is completely ash, but firefighters could be getting some help from Mother Nature on thursday. The fast spread has been fueled by strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures. But now meteorologists are forecasting a change in wind patterns and cooler temperatures, which would help increase containment. But with our current conditions, um, the spread is going to be minimized, especially with not much winds pushing them. So i is going to be helpful. Meanwhile the white house says President Biden is monitoring the situation closely , and texas will have all the resources it needs to contain the fires. Federal officials are in close contact with state and local officials on the front lines of these fires, and fema and the u. S. Forest service are providing assistance to the state. The National Weather service says those improved conditions will not last, with another big warm up expected this weekend. That is the latest from dallas casey stegall, kctv icu fox two news. Well, having a child wont have to come at the expense of getting an education next, the new east bay school, designed to solve that issue for young parents 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. High school educations. The Ribbon Cutting ceremony was held at the Carolyn Hobbs academy on foothill boulevard this morning. Hobbs is a retired principal who served Alameda County schools for more than 20 years. The academy in her name will provide on site childcare to support young parents as they work to receive their high school diplomas. As a child comes into this world with a clean slate. Parents and educators have a responsibility to assist in building a childs slate, which will bring value to the child and value to this world. The Carolyn Hobbs academy is partnering with the la placita preschool school, which serves english language learners. Antioch city leaders are considering new laws and penalties meant to stop sideshow activity. There have to be proactive measures to make sure that they dont happen in the first place. Rather than respond to just being equipped to respond to them when they do happen. The Antioch City Council is considering a proposal that would issue fines of up to one 1,000 and or six months in jail for anyone caught organizing or promoting illegal street races. The citys interim police chief says that antioch had an effective investigate system in the past that uncovered sideshows before they happened. Now officers are forced to respond afterward. A Marijuana Dispensary in healdsburg is suing the city because it was not awarded a license to open its business, mercy wellness operates dispensaries in cotati and santa rosa. Well, last year, mercy joined eight applicants applying for licenses to operate in healdsburg. The city approved licenses for two of the companies. In its lawsuit, mercy wellness claims healdsburg should reexamine the way it awards, permits and licenses the Company Claims it was denied a permit even though it scored better than the two businesses that were awarded permits. The city of oakley will soon increase fines for illegal commercial cannabis operators. Council members unanimously approved a charge of up to 10,000 a day for violating the new ordinance, will return for a second reading and final approval next month. Shovels could hit the ground as soon as next year for kaiser permanente, a new hospital in san jose. It will replace the current Medical Center. Thats 50 years old, mercury news reports a draft of an Environmental Impact report shows the new hospital will be six stories high, totaling 685,000ft s, more than twice the size of the existing facility. The new Medical Center has enough space for 303 beds, 60 more than right now. Construction should be complete in 2029, but complying with seismic regulations could push the opening to 2030. San mateo county will invest 5 million into its new mobile Mental Health program, as ktvu Lamonica Peters explains, specialized teams will respond to Mental Health calls without police for the first time in that county. San mateo county has awarded a 5 million annual contract to telecare corporation, which will work with local nonprofits, staff. Vista to operate a new Mental Health response system. People can call 911 and specifically request this kind of response. And so it creates this pathway that didnt exist before. This is the first time San Mateo County will use specialized teams to respond to Mental Health calls without involving police. Callers will soon be able to call to request help for a family member, a friend, or anyone else, including themselves, and they will have five five mobile Crisis Response vans that will be located throughout the county at the ready for inperson response, and that will be a game changer. After calls are screened, staff will arrive in unmarked vans for privacy. Corzo also says police will not go out on calls unless deemed necessary for other safety reasons. The city of san mateos Police Department says since its Mental Health Response Program began in 2021, its clinician has responded to over 2000 calls. She has access to resources that a normal Police Officer doesnt. Um, so over over the last couple of years, weve seen, uh, just a lot of success with, uh, the work that shes doing. San mateo county says they expect response times for its mobile Mental Health program to be within an hour in central county areas and within 90 minutes along the coast. Social workers work miracles. Uh, you know, therapists work miracles, psychologists work miracles. Uh, they are skilled in deescalating situations. And that is, you know, one of the big hopes of this program in San Mateo County also says that it will roll out an Outreach Campaign that will let people know about this service and the hotline number. Lamonica peters, ktvu, fox two news. Santa clara county officials are reporting some success, but also many more challenges in combating homelessness, a new report finds. A record 2500 homeless families were moved into permanent housing last year. At the same time, almost twice as many lost their housing. Experts say there are a number of reasons for this, including Mental Health and addiction, as well as a severe Affordable Housing shortage. They say more funding is needed to help overcome these issues. An east bay wharf thats 120 years old has been removed from off the coast of richmond in an attempt to restore the ecosystem in that area. Everybody understood that long terme there were going to be significant improvements to the bay from a Water Quality standpoint, habitat standpoint. Chevron richmond removed the wharf that was just north of point Mallard Beach park in richmond. The wharf was built back in 1904 and decommissioned in the 1980s. Hundreds of piles of wood and 90 steel piles were taken out as part of the removal process. The hope is that this will help eelgrass in the area grow again, and also bring back wildlife life. Lets get outside. Maybe take a pause on that. Although it is a little bit brighter right now than it was just 45 minutes ago. Yeah, once again, this is just the early stages of this pattern setting up. And yeah, were expecting some pretty Stormy Weather to develop today. The rain will pick up, but the real weather of interest will be friday and into saturday. That could include some thunderstorms. So definitely the sunny days from the recent past are out of here, and temperatures definitely cooling off as well. So periods of rain, gusty winds and even lower snow levels here in the bay area. Weve been talking so much about the sierra, but up above 2000ft we could have some snow in the bay area hills. Heres our forecast model. Well put this into motion and we are showing you this. Some rain. This is through tomorrow afternoon, 4 p. M. Look at those numbers really going up into friday night and into saturday. So as you can see locally, we are going to pick up some pretty good steady rainfall, especially up in the north bay. But we do not have any flood watches or flood advisories posted just yet. And of course out in the sierra this will be the big deal. Snowfall expectations is 5 to 12ft and that blizzard warning is in place right now. You can see the projection here with the rain bands, the snow bands moving into the sierra. The blizzard warning is in place until 10 a. M. On sunday, so its a Long Duration event. Its today. Tomorrow saturday and into the first half of sunday. Look at that big time snow forecast around five to possibly ten to possibly 12ft. So that will be the constant all all weekend long, especially for the first half of the weekend. For saturday snowfall piling up in the sierra. Our radar is fairly active this afternoon, especially up in northern california. Look at these lightning strikes detected close to redding, and we have some scattered rain here. And of course, the snow already showing up in the sierra right now. Well check out the current radar image. Santa rosa has been reporting some steady rain, at least at the Sonoma County airport up in napa county. Some activity closer to fairfield as well, and then some scattered rain showers closer to the Santa Cruz Mountains and also in the santa clara valley. But the winds have also been picking up as well. Take a look at these current wind reports. Over 30 miles an hour right now. At least the gusts for santa rosa and napa out toward. Lets see, Half Moon Bay gusting to 32 and sfo gusting at 22 miles an hour. So solid cloud cover this afternoon. Some breezy winds as well, some gusty winds shaking the camera around a bit and current numbers mainly in the 50s to the lower 60s. So definitely cooler than yesterday as that cold air that speckled cloud cover continues to move into northern california. So heres whats happening. This area of low pressure is going to stick around right on through saturday. The front that this will be moving in this afternoon. So in fact the forecast model is picking up on that frontal band. This is 4 p. M. And then behind it well have some cold unstable air. Its one of those deals where it could be dry. Then all of a sudden a sudden downpour and maybe some thunderstorms and some hail especially. Im watching the time frame. By friday evening, the activity could really ramp up. And of course, here is the constant out toward the sierra. The snowfall does not let up, and still some scattered rain showers into your saturday with a chance of still some showers into sunday as well. So if youre looking for a warm, sunny day, its not in our forecast at all. Temperatures this afternoon. Definitely cooler than yesterday. Upper 50s to right around 60 degrees periods of rain for friday. Showers maybe some thunderstorms into saturday sunday, some off and on. Scattered showers, maybe some breaks to get outside and theres a slight chance of a shower by monday of next week. But definitely the most impactful period will be friday and possibly into the first half of saturday. Mark. Thank you. Soccer continues to grow in popularity across the bay area. The new deal Just Announced that will put the oakland roots in front of more peo e more often introducing finish ultimate. Engineered for the toughest conditions. Dry burnton stains. Old dishwashers. Very hard water. New finish ultimate, with cyclesync technology, helps deliver the ultimate clean. Thousands of women showed up to todays conference in santa clara for several workshops led by world leaders, including former new zealand Prime Minister jacinda ardern, first partner Jennifer Siebel newsom and actor, producer and writer viola davis. Tomorrow marks the start of womens History Month. Ktvu celebrating the power of azing bay area women. Go to ktvu. Com, slash womens histor to submit a photo or video of a woman deserving of recognition, and tell us why she may be featured on ktvu. During womens History Month. Researchers say live music stimulates the brain more than recordings. Scientists in switzerland performed mri brain scans on 27 people as they listened to someone playing a piano live, and then recorded version of the same musician and piece. Researchers found that Live Performances stimulated peoples emotions and increased brain activities. Today is february 29th. As you know, leap day, which only comes around every four years. Roughly 5 Million People in the world have a leap day birthday out of some 8 billion people on the planet. Some will celebrate big this year. Others will likely mark a special anniversary in a fun new way. Some say the extra day gives them time to do anything they want. Some couples have chosen leap years as a fun wedding date, one that will get to celebrate this year. Its fun having a leap anniversary. Its not like, oh gosh, you know, something massive has changed in the last year, but you know, youve got four years to sort of reflect on. Leap day exists to keep the calendar in sync with the seasons, as it takes 300 and 65. 25 days for the earth to orbit the sun. That extra day helps line up equinoxes and solstices. The warriors will not have forward Andrew Wiggins tonight when they take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square garden. Hes out indefinitely, the team says. The 29 year old is dealing with a personal matter that the warriors are honoring his wishes to keep the situation private. The team expects him to return but doesnt know when. Wiggins stepped away from the team last year. When his father faced a serious medical condition in a groundbreaking partnership, is expanding right here in oakland, ktvu is reaffirming our commitment to bring oakland roots soccer games to fans all across our region. Ktvu will now broadcast every game, both home and away, on ktvu plus, we spoke with the roots chief purpose officer mike geddes on mornings on two, and he told us that while they are a young club, they are growing fast. We now have a womens team, the oakland soul, as well as oakland roots, our mens team, and weve got an amazing product were playing right now out at cal state east bay in hayward. Its a great family atmosphere, fantastic entertainment. We want more people to have the chance to see our games and get involved in the excitement and hopefully come out and watch some incredible soccer. Ktvu will air the oakland soul womens teams home game in june. Geddes says that while the soul is currently preprofessional, they hope to build a soccer specific stadium in oakland, and that will help the womens team to gain professional status. A as a proud media partner of the oakland roots, ktvu is gearing up for the start of the season. Werairing a Season Preview this saturday, march 2nd right here on kttv icu at 9 p. M. Well also air the Season Opener against the indy 11 next saturday, marchth on ktvu. Plus and well have an hour long post game show following the opening match, so stick around for all of that very exciting to see them grow for sure. All right. Of course, today the big story is whether you see it here, you feel it where you are. Rain is moving in wind to follow, be sure to stay tuned to ktvu fox two. You can also download the ktvu app to get caught up and up to date on weather and news. You can also stream ktvu on your smart tv. Watch our live newscast, get stories on demand on amazon fire, roku, apple and android. Scan that qr code or search fox local and cho e ktvu. Et smooth music [announcer] can you guess what this is . Hey, hey, hey [announcer] if you guessed ghost, then youd be a great contestant on pictionary. Our first celebrity captain you love as the host of fight to survive. Its always a knockdown drag out fight with akbar gbajabiamila. And with him our friends shaun and tucker