Machines that you can fill them with and why not. Sfo has approximately 100 refill stations throughout the airport. Who doesnt have a Reusable Water Bottle nowadays . The ban applies to all forms of unflavored water, still water, sparkling water and water infused with electrolytes. It doesnt apply to the flavored waters, teas, juices or sodas but that could change in the future. Im all for the environmental aspect. I bring my own bot with me so it doesnt affect me. It will cause inconvenience for a lot of people. I do miss plastic straws. The airport still has those if you ask. And apparently other cities are now looking to sfo for vice. They may be want to do th same thing. A spokesperson here declined to say which cities that is. Melanie woodrow, abc7 news. Thanks so much. And the plastic water bottle ban is just the next step that sfo is taking in its quest to be americas most environmentally conscious airport. In the past decade, it has installed low flow faucets an water saving toilets and working to expand the use of biofuel for airplanes. The next steps include more bike lanes to get people out of cars and on to bikes. It plans to convert the fleet of diesel parking lot bus shuttles to an all electric fleet. Abc7 news is committed to building a better bay area and devoting a week to the housing crunch looking at the lengths some people go to that they can have a roof over their head. Weve shared stories of people paying 1200 to rent a closet, yes, a closet. It takes all of us working together to find a solution to one of our regions biggest problems. Right now, were getting your input as well as some stories how housing crunch is affecting lives every day. News anchor dan ashley is about to host a threehour town hall. Dan. Good to be with you. Were about to start this threehour town hall in a few moments. I encourage everyone who would like to take part to turn to our Facebook Page, youtube channel, as well as our website to take part in the town hall. Part of our effort to build a better bay area means focusing on the housing issue which is at a bit of a crisis point in the bay area because its become so expensive and making life very difficult for a lot of people. Were not going to solve the housing problem in the next three hours but we will understand it a great deal better. As we go in depth. I have a terrific panel of experts here with me. Im very excited to hear what they have to say. They have an incredible depth of knowledge across a Broad Spectrum whether its government and different agencies and im going to start quickly with you, ken, the planning director association of bay area governments. What do you hope that we can deal with in the next three hours that will help people understand exactly how this problem is affecting so many people and what solutions we might realistically be able to be achieve . One of the things that folks who have been working on the housing issue and dealing with it day to day have come to realize, theres no one Silver Bullet solution. We have to produce a lot more housing at all income levels but especially Affordable Housing for the workforce. We have to preserve some of our existing Affordable Housing and protect people from display thes displacement. We cant choose one or the other and have to have the region moving forward together. I think a key word you used is region. One city cant solve it on its own. Thank you very much. We look forward to hearing from all of our experts on television and across all of our platforms. This housing town hall is getting under way. We want to take your questions. If theres something you want asked and want me to direct to an expert please go to our Facebook Page at abc7news. Com, with your website as well as our Facebook Page abc news. Let me hear from you. Well get under way here in the Conference Room on the second floor but for the moment, back to you in the studio. We are indeed all in it together. Dan, folks, send in your questions to him. As part of our efforts to build a better bay area, were spen this week looking into the housing crisis from every angle from the high prices to some of the more innovative ways that people are choosing to live in San Francisco but how do we even get to this point to begin with . Abc News Reporter liz kreutz is going back in time and breaking down numbers to show how and why things have changed. We all know home prices in the bay area are out of control. But obviously, it wasnt always this way. We cant just turn back time. Thanks for the advice, mark ruffalo. But to understand what it was once like, were going to do it. Lets start in the 90s. Those were the days, right . And not just for campy television. The internet was dialup. Mark zuckerberg was in grade school and compared to now, in San Francisco, it was a Pretty Amazing time to buy a house. Look at these numbers. In the mid 90s, the median price of a home here was roughly 300,000. Yes, that was more than the National Median home price but if you tried to get a home for ha price now, heres an example of something you might get. Yeah. But from then on, housing prices only went up. Thanks to drum roll please, money from tech. Around 2000, the first tech bub, home prices in San Francisco did go up to a median price of more than 500,000. But fast forward a little over ten years and thats when things really took off. 2012 with the year facebook went public. The next year twitter did. At the same time, housing prices skyrocketed. In the past seven years, the median home price in San Francisco has more than doubled. The same has happened in cities across the bay area. Yep, bottom line, enter the big ipos and the bay area Housing Market has never been the same since. And we want to hear your ideas about building a better bay area. Share them by joining our better Bay Area Group on facebook. A woman, her child and their dog are safe this afternoon after being rescued from a cliff at fort funded. En in San Francisco. Firefighters pulled them to safety after they became stranded around noon. You can see the dog there. They were okay, but one firefighter had to be taken to the hospital after suffering is nonlifethreatening injuries. Cornell bernard will have a live report coming up at 5 00. One of two people still considered missing after last years camp fire has been located in oroville. A butte county sheriffs detectives spotted wendy carole walk down a street last night. She knew she was listed as missing but didnt say she was safe because of unresolved legal issues. The woman is now the seoul person unaccounted for the after the fire. I an couple high profile cases. No deliberations today in the ghost ship trial. The jury ended its first full day of discussions yesterday without reaching a verdict. And theyll get back at it on tuesday. Ghost ship founder Derick Almena and creative director max harris are each charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. As soon as the jury reaches a decision, well send an alert via the free abc7 news app. And a plea hearing for a man accused of fatally stabbing nia willson as the macarthur b. A. R. T. Station has been postpones. Investigators say John Lee Cowell stabbed her to death last july. Willsons sister was also stabbed but survived. His Attorney Says he has a mental history but last month i a judge ruled him competent to stand trial. Prosecutors say they need time to go over latest doctors report. It was rescheduled for august 19th. The case of two abandoned horses found in a home depot parking lost last week. They were stolen from a ranch. A possible suspect has been identified. So far no arrests have been made. They were left without food or water up to 24 hours and being treated as a veterinary facility as the investigation continues. The city of oakland is poised to honor a journalist. Assassinated on this day 12 years ago. Chauncey bailey was shot and killed as he walked to his office at the oakland post. The morning of august 2nd, 2007. Yesterday, city councilwoman lynn net gibson mcal henne flounced a commemorative plastic in honor of bailey on what would have been his 70th birthday. Shes taking the step for his family and to stand up for free speech at a time when they are under attack. San Francisco State university is shutting down its Chinese Language Program in reading. The examiner repor the University Reports it ended a 14yearold collaboration with china under federal pressure. China also supported language classes, cultural events, teacher training and summer camps for thousands of bay area students and educators. U. S. Officials warn it exposes the u. S. To sabotage. A News Conference is about to get under way. Were keeping an eye on that and will bring it to you live as soon as someone begins that News Conference. The reason theyre holding this conference we believe is because it has come out that the Santa Clara CountyCoroners Office is saying the gunman in the mass shooting killed himself. That will contradict what police said earlier that the officers fired the fatal shot. They had talked a lot about how immediately one minute after the shooting began they were on gunman and they had gotten to him and killed him is what they said earlier. Gilroy police chief scot smithee is expected to clarify and make clear why the contradicts. We are watching it for you. You can see the podium is ready in rome, an attorney for Gabriel Natale hoorth who is one of two mill valley teens accused in a Police Officers death petitioned the court for his clients release. No word when a tribunal might hear the appeal. Sympathy for the officer copied to pour in from around the world as abc7s Wayne Freedman reports that includes here in the bay area. This murder is not going to change our love for italy. Two women on a couch in a neighborhood in punch richmond a world away from rome but after the murder of Italian Carabinieri they feel right next door emotionally. My first reaction was like i was punched in the gut. I felt it go all the way to my sole. Lorraine lombardo and Christina Olivo low started a movement to raise money for the the mario rega. I put it on my Facebook Page. We know the account number in rome and so everybodys on their own. Go to the bank. And make a donation. As of this morning, the post had generated more than 3,000 responses and fewer than 47 hours. We dont know how much money its brought in nor will we. That remains private. But it does have local significance because the two suspects are from this region. Super embarrassed. Im a parent. I have a 20yearold son who went to the same high school as this finnegan elder. I put myself in the shoes of those parents. I cry for them. But i also put myself in the shoes of the italians and i cry for them. Reporter as for lorraine, this case is personal. Shes a retired San FranciscoPolice Officer who spent 30 years on the streets who has friends in the carabinieri. She knows some of them and a Third GenerationItalian American and has a genuine carabinieri hat and home. What do you want italy to note about the San Francisco bay area . That we love them. We always have, we always will. We stand you. Reporter theyre doing so with money talking an International Language of sympathy. In point richmond, Wayne Freedman, abc7 news. Lets get to gilroy for that Live Press Conference happening. Skotonly one t in the first name and smithee for the last name. Immediately following his comments, we will entertain some questions if you have any of those, and kind of see how things work out. With that, chief smithee. I dont have a whole lot for you today as far as an update but i did have a piece of information that i thought was important that we at least try to push out before the weekend. It came to my attention this afternoon that the Coroners Office had released a cause and manner of death of the suspect in this case. When they do that, it doesnt mean they have the whole report done. We dont have a lot of detail. They draw a conclusion in their preliminary determination the cause and manner of death is a selfinflicted gunshot wound. And i wanted to address that at least briefly. So when the shooting occurred, and our officers ran to the area the shooting occurred and they engaged the suspect, the suspect immediately changed his fire from the crowd towards the officers. And as they were engaining in gunfire our officers did fire multiple rounds at the suspect. I do know that the suspect was hit multiple times by the rounds that our officers fired which put him down. But it appears now with that ruling on the cause and manner of death that once he was down, he was able to get a round off and he shot himself. It sounds like that round was to the head. I dont think that really changes much of anything. But if somebody were to look at just the cause and manner and they started asking a lot of questions and i wanted to make sure it the information remained consistent. We didnt get a different sort of story going out over the weekend. You know, the Coroners Office will release a full reportrial include things like that exactly where he was hit, how many times he was hit, all that data but that usually takes quite a length of time before they release that. And then once that gets released of course, that will become public and well be able to release that information to you at all, as well. That was really the gist confident Additional Information that i wanted to put out before we went into the weekend. Anybody have any questions . Yeah. Reporter did the officers see the gunman turn and shoot himself in the head . You know, i dont know. I dont believe they did. I just dont know. He may have already been down on the ground when it occurred. But until we get the full report early indications to me is that they did not realize that that had happened. Chief, was he down on the ground when he shot himself or once he was down, did the officers hit him multiple times down, he may have already been down. Square that for me. Again, i dont im hesitant to say exactly at what point but we do know that as he was being hit by the rounds being fired by our officers, that he went he initially went down to his knees and then down to the ground. But i dont have enough data to suggest at what point during that sequence of events this round from his rifle may have been fired. I just dont know. Can you say approximately how many times for sure the gun fired from the officers . I dont know how many rounds they fired yet. Obviously it would be several. You know, ill wait till the fbi comes up with that. Theyll be able to tell us exactly. Frankly, i dont know how many times the suspect was struck other than ive gotten at least early reports that it was multiple times. Followup question to that. Yesterday you addressed whether [ inaudible question ] still appear to be the case by Police Gunfire . We have no evidence to suggest that bystanders were struck by the officers gunfire. Do you know how many officers were shooting at the gunman . Three. And those were the three officers names i released yesterday. Were you aware the officers shot the gunman around the body . I dont have enough data for that to answer that. That will be part of that full coroners report. So theyll be able to tell us exactly where and how many times. Ak he shot himself . Thats my understanding. In your mind, does this change anything about the officers actions . Glad you asked that question. In my mind, it changes nothing. You know, the officers still got there fast. They engaged him fast. They drew his fire and they eliminated the threat. Whether he fired that final shot or not is in my mind changes nothing. So whats next . What do you do with this information . I think now we just go back to the waiting game until the scene gets processed until the coroner finishes the rest of their report, until the investigation is completed. And once we get all of those things combined together, well get a better understanding of all the details of the event that everybody wants to know. Is there an update on the crime scene in terms of has it been reduced anyway today . Yesterday it was reduced by 50 . I have not even talked to the fbi today. Out there. So i dont know, im sorry. Those of you just coming in, if you want, well do it for you again if you want. I would very much appreciate that. Yeah, you can hang tight and ill do it again for you guys. Does this information help towards a motive . No, i dont think it i dont think it helps with any kind of a motive, no. [ inaudible question ] not that im aware of. Saw them coming and changed he was very clearly firing at our officers, yes. Were any officers hit by the gunman . None of the officers were hit. Were you surprised to learn that he died from a selfinflicted gunshot wound . Well, based on everything that we heard, you know, the preliminary step its such a chaotic scene, i think i was a little surprised all ho this is not uncommon in these types of situations when somebody realizes you know, that theyre not going to be able to do anymore. I think weve seen that happen in a number of other events around the country, as well. S