Transcripts For KNTV Today In The Bay 20170128

20plus temperature increase throughout the next couple of hours. Its going to be a great weekend so far, but were also tracking rain chances. A closer look at that coming up in a little bit. A good end overall to january. Definitely. All right. Stay tuned for your rain. Thanks, vianey. First we want to tell you about investigators in the south bay saying theyre confident this morning that all of the men involved in a bank robbery are behind bars. This after a wild 30hour manhunt which had residents in several south bay neighborhoods on edge. We have video from downtown san jose. This is last night. The stolen chevy malibu being towed away. Law enforcement officers had been looking for this car after the Bank Robbery Suspects stole it while on the run. A few hours before that our nbc chopper was over the scene as Police Chased that man through an active construction site where he was trying to hide from them. Hes one of the three men Police Spotted in a stolen Unmarked Police car early yesterday. His two accomplices gave up, arrested immediately, but he jumped out of the car running away putting parts of japantown on lockdown. Police had rifles in hand searching cars and homes for that third suspect. When we attempted to take him into custody he resisted. One officer did deploy a taser in after effort to overcome the resistance. All three men are being questioned in relation to that bank robbery when happened thursday at a bank of america in scotts valley. That manhunt made for anxious moments in several south bay neighborhoods. During the search, people from los gatos to san jose were told to secure their homes, some told to shelter in place. Walking down the corridor. Two officers by the park on 7th street that flagged me out. They had guns pointed at me. Put up my hands. I did, of course. Again, those three suspects are behind bars this morning and being questioned in connection with that bank robbery. Still no mug shots of those three arrested last night, but heres a look at Bank Robber Caught by surveillance camera at bank of america. His face you see hidden under a black mask hoody and dark glasses. Stay with us for the very latest. Our facebook, twitter feeds and website all constantly being updated. Now to a robbery at a bay area taco bell kfc, it was stopped all thanks to alert customers and employees. A man walked into the taco bell at bascom and negley in san jose with a gun and demanded money when several people jumped into action wrestling him to the ground. Officers say he suffered a gunshot wound during the struggle but its unclear how he was shot. Investigators tell us it was lucky no one else was hurt. Definitely one of those situations with a happy ending. Very volatile situation that could have gone either way, but in this instance worked out very well. The suspect was taken to the hospital before placed into county jail. His injuries, were told, are not life threatening. Now to a highly anticipated and controversial phone call. In a couple hours fro now, President Trump will talk on the phone with russian president vladimir putin. Its their First Official conversation since trump took office. President putin congratulated President Trump shortly after the election. Bust the kremlin says they havent spoken since. White house Senior Adviser Kellyanne Conway says lifting u. S. Sanctions on russia would be up for discussion during todays conversation. Vice president mike pence will also sdwljoin in the call. Yesterday trump welcomed theresa may to the white house. Theyre work forge a bilateral trade agreement and timing important especially for britain. Well cement the crucial relationship that exists between us pray will as the uk leaves the european union. Today the United States renews our deep bond with britain, militarily, financial, cultural and political. At the same time, people of mexico are beginning to debate how to fight back against President Trumps aggressive stance on trade and immigration. Mexicos president Enrique Pena Nieto scrapped plans to meet with President Trump this week. Trump claims the mexican people will pay for the wall to be built between the countries. Now both sides are being diplomatic were told agreeing to solve their differences and not speak publicly about it. Veteran british actor sir john hurt has died at age 77 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Hurt starred in more than 200 movies and tv series over his career spanning five decades. He revealed in 2015 that he was receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer. Hurt was nominated for an oscar for roles in both the elephant man and midnight express. Lis hatest movie jackie out last year. Younger fans might remember him as the wand maker in harry potter. Here in california, new building regulations are going into effect immediately, and theyre aimed at preventing a repeat of that deadly balcony collapse that happened in berkeley. The new standards voted on yesterday by the California Building Standards Commission looked to improve construction of all exterior balconies and walkways. Back in 2015, six people were killed after a balcony collapsed at an Apartment Building in berkeley. It was determined that the balcony had not been properly constructed. There is a mysterious dangerous thing happening in the east bay forcing drivers to be very alert on highway 24. Cars along that highway near 680 are getting hit. Causing windows and sunroofs to shatter. Investigators suspect someone could be throwing things at the cars and still dont know for sure. The chp wants to know who or what may be behind it. I can tell you that its not bullets. Its not shots. None of thats been found. No evidence that proves that. Were very concerned about it. The chp is urging drivers to report any incident and include where and when your car was hit. The recent storms in pacifica have take an toll on homes and apartments making them too dangerous to live in. The city announced it will remove the apartments at 310 esplanade avenue. City leaders say theyre worried the building could slide down the cliff or crumble because of all of the erosion. The decision comes just days after pacifica announced it will receive state and federal funds to clean up that massive storm damp. It is 7 07 now. Much more ahead on today in the bay. Coming up, facebook founder Mark Zuckerbergs complex legal fight in one of the countrys most beautiful places. Well tell you why zuckerberg is now backing down. We havent taken things out of boxes in case we have to take off. On shaky ground in the wake of powerful storms that swept through the bay area. This devastation that has some peninsula homeowners seeing red. Ng welcome back. 7 10, saturday morning. Gorgeous look at the lexington reservoir in los gatos. Frigid temperatures across parts of the bay. Seeing 50s and low 60s today. Rain on the way later this week. Vianey along in a moment with the forecast. Well, on the heels of all the storms weve recently seen in the bay area, people in san mateo hoping it doesnt get worse. So far three homes red tagged in one neighborhood. Reporter here on scenic drive the hillside is sliding. The signs no joke. The hillside is moving taking homes and roads with it. It went in two days. Reporter paula crowe can almost feel the ground beneath her moving. The water soaked hillsides is swallowing parts of scenic drive and destroying homes. Its encircling two houses both red tagged. Ours red tagged. And theyre all moving. Reporter crews are monitoring the movement. Homes at the top of the hill are also in danger. Crowe says it all happened fast. Monday we saw a oneinch crack in the garage and thought, oh. You know, last year we had a little crack. One more little crack. Tuesday it turned into twoinch crack. And we go, its moving. Well prove to the house next door in case. Reporter luckily, crowe and her husband own the house next door and put out a call for help moving and it feels like the entire town pitched in. We had 20 or 30 people show up. My age, in our 60s give or take, and the next door neighbor kid put on his facebook, the neighbors willing to pay 20 an hour, three of husband young friends came and did all the heavy lifting. Reporter fundme pages include pictures of mangled homes and stories of financial ruin. With more rain coming, crowe was hoping the slide doesnt take her safe zone. We havent taken things out of boxes in case we have to take awe again. We dont know. Reporter for nbc bay area news. Wow. Much more ahead on today in the bay. Coming up, a saturday night live legend returns home. Well show you the lucky group treated to this unforgettable experience. And a beautiful shot over mount diablo. 34 degrees now. That sunshine is expected. Sticks around through the weekend. Tracking rain chances yet again in the bay area. I will have that timeline, plus how hot will we be getting . All of that coming up in a few minutes. I can show you the world shining, shimmering, splendid tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide a whole new world welcome to aulani its hawaii with a touch of disney magic. For special offers visit disneyaulani. Com or call your travel agent welcome back. It is 7 14 on your saturday morning. A live look outside at the Golden Gate Bridge. Pink skies. A beautiful morning. Chilly, though. Near freezing temperatures across a lot of the bay area. We will be seeing temperatures in the 50s, even low 60s today. Pretty nice final weekend of january. After facing blistering criticism Facebook Ceo Mark Zuckerberg is dropping lawsuits involving native hawaiian property owners. Three years ago he and his wife paid more than 1 million for seven acres of land on the Hawaii Island of kauai. Turns out small parcels of the property were awarded back in the 1800s to native families. Many of whom died without wills. When zuckerberg file add lawsuit to follow up the question of ownership, there was backlash. Yesterday zuckerberg announced theyre dropping legal action to find a better path forward. A legendary trombonist for saturday night live and giving the gift of music to Young Musicians here in the bay area. Theyre not taping snl this weekend so steve ture is back in town. We have the story. Reporter his name might not ring a bell. But the sound he makes with his trombone is legendary. To keep this music alive you have to pass it on. Reporter steve ture is passing music on to musicians and students at Edna Brewer Middle School in oakland. Its a form of communication. Its not just a performance where you go do some tricks that you learned and try and get the people to clap. Its a deeper experience than that if youre doing it right. Reporter ture has been doing it right for 32 years as the trombonist for its saturday night live he makes several trips back to have all places, lafayette, his hometown. When he visits the west coast seeing his mom is a priority. Another priority right . Reporter teaching jazz and how he became a success. On saturday, ture will play with some other bignamed musicians at the empress theater in vallejo. When you are a part of something, no matter how big you get or what you do, when you have a chance to get back to your roots and do something that means something to you, it goes above and beyond getting paid. Reporter being paid for doing something you love is good, but for ture, music is much more. If someone wants to learn, i forget about the clock. You know . Im into it as long as theyre into it. Reporter cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. Nice story. All right. Time to check in with vianey arana with a look at our weekend forecast. We have had so much rain. Yes. Getting some sunshine now. We are. Means if you play instruments, go play them outside today, because its going to be sunny. Youre not going to want to be indoors. So if you have work today, make on your lunch break at least, take advantage and head outdoors. Look at this gorgeous shot over mount diablo. 34 degrees. Looking beautiful. 42 degrees in San Francisco. Nice, clear skies, and thats going to be todays theme. Take a look at heavenly lake tahoe. I dont know if it gets more beautiful than this shot here. Looks like a postcard using the Weather Underground sky cam and gorgeous. Lake tahoe caging a break from snow showers. Expecting chilly temps. On the cool side now. Palo alto 37. San francisco 42 degrees and Half Moon Bay, 44 degrees. We do have High Pressure that is sitting over the bay area, which is going to keep us dry and warm through the weekend. Now, right now 36 in san jose, but if we fastforward to about 11 00 a. M. , should be already into those 50s at about 51 degrees. And fastforward to 1 00 and 2 00, yes, a 59, and we should top out into those 60s for areas near the south bay. San francisco at 42 degrees now. Fastforward to 11 00, getting your day started, 51 degrees. Heading out for a lunch break a nice 57 degrees and should be around the expected high for San Francisco. Today also is great day to head to napa. Maybe this is the weekend, maybe you havent had a chance to, because look how gorgeous the day is expected to be. Now, by about 2 00, 52 degrees. Fastforward to 4 00, 5 00, just in time for that wine and cheese hour. Expecting a high of about 58, 60degree mark expected to hit anywhere between 5 00 and 6 00. Meanwhile, in the remainder of the bay area areas near the south bay all in the 60s. 60s across the board. Not just for the south bay but check out the east bay as well. Hayward, 62 degrees. Danville, 61. Walnut creek, 60 degrees and along the peninsula talking upper 50s in the forecast. Santa mateo, 60. Half moon bay, 60 degrees and not expecting any patchy fog. Keep the nice, clear skies. Through tonight and into sunday as well. Perfect. Outer sunset, 59 degrees and mission 59 degrees. I like to look at these temps not too hot, not too cold, just right. Sonoma, 60 degrees. Take a quick look at the doppler radar. As i mentioned, we do have an area of High Pressure that is seen over San Francisco. Southern california also finally catching a break, but right behind it off the coast we are searing a disturbance that could bring the chance of more rain to the bay area. And if youre wondering when, right now the longrange models show a chance of rain as early as wednesday early morning, making its way through thursday and by friday through the rainfall we should see anywhere between over an inch in the north bay and in the remainder of the bay area anywhere between a half inch to just over an inch and a quarter through friday. Clearing out by the weekend. Lets take a quick check of the next seven days, as we head into sunday. High of about 59 degrees, and by monday and tuesday, we will keep that sunshine, before we see the return of rain as we head into wednesday. Not just for San Francisco but inland and overjaw enjoy the lovely saturday. Kira . Looks really good after all the rain weve had. Nice way to end january. Much more ahead on today in the bay coming up. Thats when we have the uhhuh moment said, wait a minute. If this works for a company, why not our own city . A bachelors degree for free. Tell you how one Silicon Valley company is making it happen, but you have to live or work in the right city. Its this mornings bay area proud next. Hard to keep pace in the expensive Silicon Valley. Welcome back. For thousands of families its hard to keep pace in the expensive Silicon Valley. A tech company in Mountain View is hoping to help. An offer you have to hear to believe. Today in the bay with this mornings bay area prep. Reporter back in college he and his Business Partner were very idealistic about the change theyd bring about in the world, but he says, if you told those two kids what theyre doing now they hardly would believe it. Great job on that. Reporter because what Adrian Ridner and ben wilson are doing is making a College Degree possible. For every single adult in Mountain View. For free. Its open enrollment. Anyone who lives or works in Mountain View, that doesnt have a bachelors degree is allowed to enroll. Reporter they met at cal poly in the early 2000s eventually starting what is now a site that offering hundreds of online videobased College Courses for credit. The idea is to make Higher Education more accessible for individuals. But when the founders saw Companies Using their product to offer fully funded degrees to their employees an idea was born. When we had the uhhuh moment and said, wait a minute. If this works for a company, why not our own city . Reporter Mountain View had been good to them, adrian says. So they decided to give something back. This woman is certainly happy they d. This committee consists of reporter finding her career path limited due to lack of a degree, but not able to afford the cost or take on the debt of funding it herself, she signed up after seeing a flyer on a bookstore bulletin board. Once that is, she was fully convinced there was no catch. And they went into more detail reassuring me. I kept asking, like, really . Reporter so far 80 people have signed up. And ap recent information session in Mountain View city hall was standing room only. You can also download. Reporter there they learned through the working Scholars Program courses at study. Com are free and remaining credits and eventually their degree from Thomas Edison State University would be covered by donation from the citys chamber of commerce. Adrian thinks the program could one day enroll 10,000 students. People getting something more valuable than just the cost of tuition the chance at a brighter future. Just to make such a difference. Right . Knowing what a degree can do for you, im the first in my family to have a bachelors degree and know what its been able to do for me. Reporter although the program is very new, only started last october, adrian says word spread in our communities, theyve stepped forward wondering how they can make it happen in there city. Garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. Incredible much more ahead on today in the bay. Coming up, a big loss for some student athletes. The vandalism thats made a mess out of this years soccer season for kids at one east bay middle school. Plus of course theyre going to clean up their act when they know someones coming. What i want to know, what are they doing when no ones watching . San francisco restaurants with a history of dirty conditions can now pay for a chance to get a clean record. Coming up, the investigation every food lover needs to watch. Over 1,000,000 californians have gotten something thats been out of reach for far too long Health Insurance. How . They enrolled through covered california. Its the Health Insurance marketplace where youll find a range of plans from leading Health Insurance companies that offer you the best combination of quality, rates, and benefits. And, through covered california, you may get financial help to pay for coverage. To get covered, youve got to get going. Open enrollment ends january 31st. Visit covereca. Com today. Lexington resivour los gas 7 29 on your saturday morning. Giving you a live look outside at lexington reservoir in los gatos. It is a gorgeous north get to outside but its very chilly. You want to bundle up. Near freezing temperatures out there. If youre inside, and youre warm, we appreciate that youre joining us. Im kira klapper. Vianey arana has a look at our microclimate forecast. The last weekend of january, and a good one to get out trngts will. Pour yourself a nice cup of coffee, warm up your inside, because when you step outside that front door heading to work on this weekend or maybe heading out to enjoy your saturday, expecting chilly temps like kira said. Look at this gorgeous shot over San Francisco right now at 42 degrees. But we will be warming up into those 50s. We still have a few degrees to go within the next couple of hours, youll see the increase as well. Also a gorgeous day to maybe head to the beach. Maybe even head out to the Golden Gate Bridge as well. Its going to be absolutely gorgeous. Perfect day for a photo shoot. Tell you that much. 44 degrees now in oakland. Expect a high of 54 degrees and also a little chilly but also expecting to warm up quite nicely. Now, across other parts of the bay area, still seeing 30s. Look at santa rosa now waking up. 33 degrees napa. 37. Livermore 34, and near palo alto, 37. Yes, seeing 30s. Because we dont have a lot of clouds in sight. But that sunshine will manage to warm us up combined with the High Pressure. Dont worry, should climb into the upper 50s, lower 60s and we do have an increase in those temps coming up over the next few days. Ill talk about how hot were expected to get and how much longer we can keep enjoying these nice, clear skies paired with a lot of sunshine in just a few minutes. Well get out and enjoy the sunshine. Vianey, thanks. First i want to tell you about investigators who say theyre confident all of the men involved in a bank robbery are bree hind bars this morning. This after a wild 30hour manhunt which had residents in several south bay neighborhoods on edge. Video from downtown san jose last night. A stolen chevy malibu being towed away. Law enforcement officers were looking for this car because a Bank Robbery Suspect stole it while on the run. Our nbc chopper prior to that was over the dramatic scene as Police Chased the man through an active construction site where he was trying to hide from them. Hes one of three men who Police Spotted in a stolen Unmarked Police car earlier yesterday. Two of his accomplice was arrested immediately, but he jurched out, started running, putting parts of san joses japantown on lockdown. Police had their rifles drawn searching cars and homes for that suspect. When we attempted to take him into custody he resisted. One officer deployed a taser and in an effort to overcome the resistance. All three men are now questioned in relation to the bank robbery which happened thursday at bank of america in scotts valley. That manhunt had people in some south bay neighborhoods on alert. During the search yesterday, people from los gatos to san jose were told to secure their homes, even shelter in place. Walking down the corridor. Two officers. By the park on 7th street that flagged me out. Had their guns pointed at me, told me to put up my hands. I did, of course. Again, three suspects are behind bars this morning angd being questioned in connection with that bank robbery. Still no mug shots of them, but heres a look at the bank robber himself caught by a surveillance camera at the bank of america in scotts valley. His face you see hidden under a dark mask, hoody and glasses. Stay with us for the latest. Facebook and twitter feeds and our website, nbcbayarea. Com are constantly being updated. Now to a robbery at a bay area taco bell kfc. It was stopped thanks to alert customers and employees. Police say a man walked into the taco bell in san jose, had a gun and demanded money. Thats when several people jumped into action wrestling him to the ground. Officers say he suffered a gunshot wound during that struggle but its unclear how he was shot. Investigators tell us it was lucky no one else was hurt. Definitely one of those situations with a happy ending. Very volatile situation that could have gone either way but in this instance worked out very well, the suspects was taken to the hospital before placed in county jail. His injuries, were told, are not life threatening. Well it has taken five years, but finally the start of a highprofile and repeatedly delayed sierra lamar trial begins monday. The morgan hill teen disappeared walking to a School Bus Stop and never been found. Today in the bays Damien Trujillo tells us about challenges facing attorneys on both sides of the case. Reporter weve seen these images for almost five years. 15yearold sierra lamar vanished without a trace. Now her family and the man accused of kidnapping and killing sierra will finally have their day in court. For the defense, this Opening Statement could be the most important day of the trial. Reporter legal analysts Stephen Clark says the defense needs to plant the seed of doubt on day one. One reason why, because all of the jury will hear for six months a the prosecutions case day after day why this man is guilty of murder and deserves the death penalty. This jury is going to hear nothing but very damaging evidence against mr. Garcia torres. It is imperative for the defense to get their story out. Reporter the defense story is that sierra lamar could still be alive and simply ran away from home. With no body and no crime scene it means prosecutors rely heavily on dna eford and use attack attacks on other women in morgan hill as evidence of agres bigs torres. Certainly the evidence against him is damaging. His statements are damping and how that plays out by the defense in their crossexamination of the prosecution case is going to be key. Reporter sources close to the case tell me there will be no more delays after eight ultimate jurors are picked monday, opening arguments begin. For nbc bay area news. Vandals ruin a middle School Soccer field and now the kids have nowhere to play. The scene at contra Costa Christian School in walnut creek. The grass thrashed by deep tire tracks. The head of the school says it happened monday night and then the vandals returns thursday to do more damage. The school recently had leveled and reseeded the field for this years soccer season, but say they dont have the funds to repair this damage, and will have to rent fields for the boys to play on. Just really stinks that we cant play soccer on the field and were just trying to get ready for our season. So far police have no leads. We have much more mead on today in the bay coming up. Guess whos back and ready to go to work . The green and gold hang out with the fans, just weeks ahead of the spring training. Take a live look outside. The warriors host the clippersie welcome back. 7 38, taking oh. We were going to take you outside, but now were going to show you ah. Here we are. Warriors hosting clippers in a primetime matchup tonight at oracle. The nationally televised game starts at 5 30. I know my mom will be watching from l. A. Hard to believe but baseball season is around the corner. Yesterday the as had preseason media day and add Jack London Square a new team, new season and new location for the annual event where more than a dozen players and coaches are expected to get together for a meet and greet with fans. The as management is skied to put thes did appointment of last year behind them finishing last place in the a. L. West. People count out out, when were play the best baseball. How weve always been. Training begins in three weeks. Much more ahead on today in the bay. Coming up, making Health Violations virtually disappear. How San Francisco is letting restaurants schedule a new inspection after theyve violated a code. Look at this gorgeous shot of the Half Moon Bay. Beautiful sunrise as the bay area begins to wake up. So does the sunshine. Were talking warmer temps, plus a look ahead at when the bay area might be seeing more rain yet again. Ill have all of those details coming up after the break. Increase speed, full throttle over intercom ann, are you coming in . Negative stay on target. What are you guys doing . Artoo, thrusters theyre closing in ill guard the base. For every family that lives star wars, this is the place where star wars lives. Where a galaxy far, far away. Is closer than ever before. Move along. Come join us. During season of the force. Now at the Disneyland Resort. And right now you can save on premium rooms at a Disneyland Resort hotel. Good morning bay area. It may be cold now. Have no fear. You wont need all the layers, at least not through the early afternoon. Look at this gorgeous shot over point arena using Weather Underground sky cam, absolutely stunning out there. Seeing a couple of clouds, but as we make our way around the bay area, point reyes also looking stunning as well. I have a feeling todays going to be a great day to head over to the beach. Woodside now, beautiful shot as the sunrise begins to shine through. 37 degrees right now, and a lot of the bay area is seeing a combination of 30s and 40s. Yes, it is cold out there. Santa rosa, 33 degrees. Palo alto 37 degrees. San jose, chilly 36 degrees. But in the San Francisco Half Moon Bay area, 42 degrees. Half moon bay, 43 degrees, oakland, 44 degrees right now. It would take a live look using doppler radar. Not a lot of green in sight. At the hoemmoment High Pressure sitting over of the bay area dominating bringing drying conditions weve enjoyed not just today but also the past couple of days. A lot of sunshine and a lot of Warming Trends as well. Southern california getting a break from storms they saw earlier this week, and we are expecting to stay dry, at least through the weekend now. Off to the coast we are seeing a disturbance that could bring the chance of rain, but when will that arrive . Right now the longrange models show a chance for rain as early as wednesday morning. With about a quarter to a half inch by thursday, but the majority of the bay area is going to be seeing less than a half inch. Fastforward through friday. Talking just over an inch to two inches for areas like the santa rosa area and also the north bay is going to get the majority of rain as well. The remainder of the bay area, between a half inch to over an inch by the end of friday. As we make our way into saturday, right now long ridang showing making its exit friday. Well keep a close eye on that. What you can expect for your saturday, a quick check. By 11 00 a. M. , 50 degrees in the bay. Inland, 52 degrees and by 2 00, warming up to about 55 degrees. Its going to be a nice little combination of sun and clouds with a nice light breeze. Inland, a warming of 59 degrees and between 2 00 and 5 00, we should be hitting a high of about 60 degrees for areas near the south bay, and high of about 57 for San Francisco. By 5 00, 56 degrees partly cloudy skies, a high of about 58 degrees, and as you make your way out to a late dinner, 49 degrees. Nice, clear skies. Really in trend. Adorning the skies. 47 degrees is going to dominate. That sunshine now over the next seven days. A wick check what you can expect. More sunshine making your way through sunday. 59 degrees the expected high, and by monday and tuesday we get to keep two more days of sunshine and warming temps as well. 60 degrees as you make your way into monday. Start of the workweek not looking too bad for us. Inland, expect a high of 63 industries for tomorrow. Making your way over to monday, look at that 65 degrees. By tuesday, 67 degrees, and then tuesday night as we make our way into wednesday, when the rain chances return. It for now, seeing a lot of sun and 60s in the forecast. Kira . Enjoy the sun before the rain comes. Vianey, thanks. Much more mead on today in the bay coming up. A new program that gives restaurants a chance to upgrade their health score, its under scrutiny in San Francisco. How yelp is fighting wack. Back. Living well rise above joint discomfort with move free ultras triple action joint support for improved mobility and flexibility, and 20 better comfort from one tiny, mighty pill. Get move free ultra, and enjoy living well. Many San Francisco restauratare is it possible 20 pay your way to a Better Health your many San Francisco restaurants are getting a chance to upgrade their low scores by paying for a new inspection. This new program is leaving some people with a bad taste. Investigative reporter, we have the story you wont see anywhere else. Reporter were continuing our series dirty secrets. Chances are youve noticed health score cards hanging up in restaurants akrcross san francio from 1 to 100 giving customers an idea how clean or dirt they restaurant was when Health Inspectors popped in for a surprise visit. Restaurants live with that score up to a year until their next surprise inspection. Now were learning some restaurants can pay to get new scores. In a city known for its cuisine, earning a poor health score can be a Scarlet Letter for restaurants across San Francisco. But now a little known program is allowing some restaurants to wipe away their dirty health record. If businesses can whitewash reputations by paying for new scores then the whole process breaks down and consumers lose that information. Reporter Vincent Toledo is a Senior Vice President at yelp. The website and app provides reviews and posting Current Health scores for restaurants. Why the company urged San Francisco months ago to cancel its new Pilot Program allowing some of the worst rated restaurants to pay for a brand new health score and inspection. When they didnt think anyone was paying attention they werent following the proper hygiene. Thats what consumers really want to know. Dont you want to know whats happening when no ones looking . Reporter a lot of caterers and restaurants in San Francisco. Inspections either once or twice a year. Serious violations have to be corrected or cleaned up for that restaurant to stay opened but stuck with the same health score until their next surprise inspection. Restaurants wait anywhere between six months to a year to earn a new rating. The citys Pilot Program allows restaurants torder up an inspection doover within 30 days. Just pay 191 and their low score is replaced with a brand new one. Its not so simple as theyre going to pay a fee and then just try to get a higher score. This is about changing bad behavior patterns within a food facility. Reporter lisa oh mali is one of three managers who runs San Franciscos restaurant inspection program. She says websites like yelp have made it easy for consumers to find a restaurants bad health score, which is why she says Restaurant Owners pushed San Francisco to offer a rescoring option. If they get a new inspection because theyre going to pay inspectors to come back, that old score is taken down. First of all, theyve earned that score and we do not tell them when were coming. Okay . We dont call sand a, well be here at 2 00 on a friday. We dont do that. Its a surprise inspection. But they know its within 30 days of them paying . Its within approximate 30 days. Reporter thats different than saying its going to be twice a year. It is different, but reporter its more notice. Within a 30day time period. Reporter so it is more notice . It can be. Reporter San Francisco plans to expand the program in the coming weeks, but so far only four restaurants have taken part. All are entire Health Scores after paying for their reinspection including ny china, went from a 63 to a 93. Thats a 30point increase. Farmer brown, a sole Food Restaurant in the tenderloin from a 79 to a 90. Earned 79 after inspectors found rodent droppings throughout the restaurant. No seib of that during their redo inspection. We reached out to both restaurants for comment but have yet to hear back. Of course theyre going to clean up their act when they know someones coming. I want to know, what are they doing when no ones watching. Reporter doesnt this undermine transparency allowing these restaurants to get a brand new score . I dont agree. No. It actually helps the consumer to make an evaluated decision where they want to eat. Reporter the city sees this as a way to be more transparent. Not less. Not sure how that would be. A situation where businesses are trying to pay to avoid being tarred with a bad score. Reporter yelp is using its own platform to wage a food fight against San Francisco. The Company Already posts alerts on the lowest scoring restaurants, yelp will keep those alerts up for six months, even if a restaurant pays to get a new score. Yelp is also urging users to call the department of health to complain about the program. And the companys alert now says, we understand the city recently caved, and now allows restaurants to essentially buy new scores. Well, thats their opinion. We want to protect public health. We want to uphold the Publics Trust were doing our job and we do that through enforcement, through education. Reporter over at yelp headquarters, San Franciscos stance is hard to swallow. We think the city should be siding with consumers and not allowing businesses a do over. Had i was in school, i fail add pop quiz i didnt get a Second Chance the next day. That was my grade. It. Reporter the new system is now officially live with yelp. Impacts about 60 of the citys worst rated restaurants. A lot more on our website. Watch all our investigations in this series and learn of other loopholes uncovered allows restaurants to keep their past violations and dirty conditions secret. Thats all at nbcbayarea. Com. Back to you. Thanks. We have much more ahead on today in the bay coming up. Our clear the shelter segment with special guests from pets in need. We will introduce you to these three puppies who all need new homes. Hope you stay tuned. Its time for our clear the shelters segment. Welcome back. It is 7 56 and time for our clear the shelters segment this morning. Very special guests from pets in need. I have not seen you guys since i left to have my baby. Im so happy for our return together you brought three adorable puppies. Okay. By the way, always here, but with alexandra and alexa, these domino. I dont know hoop who. Pinto, dice, domino. Theyre brothers but can go to separate homes. Tell me about them. So funny, mixes. We think terrier mixes. We have their mom. Looks like a terrier. Whenever you come in we all kind of want to adopt every pet you bring but these are getting a lot of buzz from the control room in my ear. Wait until you see these puppies. How big do you think theyre going to get . What type of home would be good for them . Theyll probably about 15 to 20 pounds, i think. Yeah. Not too big. No. Not too big. Theyre eight weeks old now and will need a lot of training for somebody that wants to spend the time and keep them potty training. Someone who doesnt mind really adorable whining, crying, thats going on. It also i want to mention that you have a special adoption promotion going on that starts february 1st. Yes. That wouldnt apply to these puppies. Theyre too young. It applies to older dogs. Is that right . Yes. Our cats and dogs that are older will be 14 from february 1st to february 14th for valentines day. Really nice, and you, as always, tell our viewers, you spay, neuter, microchip, vaccinate. All of these pets are ready to go. Yes. Take these puppies, if you can. Their mom probably would apply them for that yes, she will. Apply for the discount for 14. She will. We hope if anyones interested go to the pets in need website, petsinneed poig opoig d did. Org. Hope the gorgeous puppies get a home. Thanks for makes us a part of your homes as always. 5 00, 6 00 and 11 00 more news, and all day on nbcbayarea. Com. Announcer when you see this symbol you know youre watching television thats educational and informational. The more you know on nbc. Josh today, on the voyager, were cruising the caribbean to discover the regions most colorful cultural traditions. Yisrael thats the moko jumbie dance right there. There you go. Josh . While on the lookout for the most mouthwatering local flavors. Youre up against my grandma in my head. My abuelita made the best puerto rican food. And ancient practices you have to see and taste to believe. Riaz lets see what you think. Josh whoa my name is josh garcia. Ever since i was a kid, ive dreamt about traveling the world by ocean, immersing myself in new cultures, and exploring natures wonders