SF News

An Amtrak train traveling from San Jose to Sacramento struck a vehicle on the tracks in Emeryville Wednesday night, according to an Amtrak spokesman.

Emeryville police received a call from a citizen reporting that an Amtrak train at the intersection of Shellmound and 67th streets struck a vehicle at 6:19 p.m.

According to Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm, train 542 had just left the station and was not yet traveling at full speed when it struck a vehicle located on the tracks.

The thirty-five passengers aboard the train at the time of the collision and the train staff were uninjured and transferred to another train at about 7:15 p.m., Kulm said.

Police confirmed that no passengers aboard the train or the driver of the vehicle reported injuries.

Police said the motorist became stuck on the tracks and abandoned the vehicle before the oncoming train collided with the vehicle, police said.

The train was unable to stop in time and struck the unoccupied vehicle, according to Kulm.

The tracks were cleared at 8:26 p.m., Kulm said.

Police are continuing to investigate what caused the vehicle to become stuck on the tracks.

 

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Regional: Gov. Brown Being Treated for Prostate Cancer

Gov. Jerry Brown's office announced Wednesday that the governor is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

Brown, 74, is continuing with his full work schedule during his treatment for the early stages of localized prostate cancer, according to his office.

His treatment is expected to be complete the week of Jan. 7, 2013.

His oncologist, Dr. Eric Small of the University of California at San Francisco, issued a statement Wednesday about Brown's health.

Small said, "The prognosis is excellent, and there are not expected to be any significant side effects."

He said Brown will be undergoing a short course of conventional radiotherapy.

Brown previously served as California governor from 1975 to 1983.

He was mayor of Oakland from 1999 to 2007, and served as California attorney general before being elected governor again in November 2010.

SF: Cyclist Injured in Collision with Street Sweeping Vehicle in SOMA

A man riding a bicycle collided with a street sweeper vehicle in San Francisco's South of Market district early this morning, according to police.

The bicyclist and street sweeper vehicle collided near the intersection of Sixth and Brannan streets at about 12:30 a.m., according to police.

During the collision, the cyclist became trapped underneath the street sweeper and fire rescue crews had to remove him from beneath the vehicle.

The cyclist was transported to San Francisco General Hospital by ambulance and sustained injuries not considered to be life threatening, police said.

Emeryville: Train Hits Unoccupied Vehicle on Tracks

An Amtrak train traveling from San Jose to Sacramento struck a vehicle on the tracks in Emeryville Wednesday night, according to an Amtrak spokesman.

Emeryville police received a call from a citizen reporting that an Amtrak train at the intersection of Shellmound and 67th streets struck a vehicle at 6:19 p.m.

According to Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm, train 542 had just left the station and was not yet traveling at full speed when it struck a vehicle located on the tracks.

The thirty-five passengers aboard the train at the time of the collision and the train staff were uninjured and transferred to another train at about 7:15 p.m., Kulm said.

Police confirmed that no passengers aboard the train or the driver of the vehicle reported injuries.

Police said the motorist became stuck on the tracks and abandoned the vehicle before the oncoming train collided with the vehicle, police said.

The train was unable to stop in time and struck the unoccupied vehicle, according to Kulm.

The tracks were cleared at 8:26 p.m., Kulm said.

Police are continuing to investigate what caused the vehicle to become stuck on the tracks.

SF: Four Plead Not Guilty in Murder of Man Found Bound, Gagged

Four suspects pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges in connection with the murder of a man who died after he and a woman were found bound and gagged on a street in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley on Sunday.

Montrail Brackens, 21, Vincent Bell, 31, Heather Leach, 24, and Maryann Manalastas, 22, all were arraigned Wednesday afternoon in connection with the death of Stephen Reid, 26, who was found tied up in the middle of the roadway in the 900 block of Brussels Street at about 8:30 p.m.

Sunday. Brackens, Bell and Leach were charged with murder while Manalastas, 22, and Tyler Miller, 19, were charged with conspiracy and being an accessory to the crime after the fact.

Manalastas also faces an assault charge, Assistant District Attorney Harry Dorfman said during Wednesday's arraignment.

Miller has posted bail and was not required to appear in court.

She is to be arraigned on Friday morning, prosecutors said.

A sixth person, Maelene Lintz, 32, had initially been arrested on suspicion of murder but her case has been discharged pending further investigation, district attorney's office spokesman Alex Bastian said.

According to a criminal complaint signed Wednesday by police, Brackens and Bell entered a home at 3733 San Bruno Ave. and assaulted Reid and a woman in her late teens, then bound and gagged them -- stuffing a sock in the woman's mouth -- and put them in a GMC Yukon.

Leach, whose aliases include Krystal Gillespie and "Snow," was also in the Yukon.

At some point, someone shot Reid in the neck and the suspects then dumped the pair on the roadway on Brussels Street, according to the complaint.

A motorist came upon Reid and the woman, who were taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where Reid later died.

The woman's injuries were initially considered life threatening, but she is now expected to survive, police said Wednesday.

According to the complaint, the next day, the suspects were at a home on Pinnacle Court in Hercules where they destroyed evidence in the Yukon by spraying cleaning fluid and removing a bloodstained carpet and foam padding from the vehicle.

Oakland: Federal Judge Approves Plan for OPD Compliance Director

A federal judge Wednesday approved an agreement to have a powerful outside compliance director oversee the Oakland Police Department and its implementation of reforms mandated by the settlement of a 12-year-old civil rights lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson of San Francisco signed an order providing for the compliance director and canceled a hearing scheduled for today.

The judge wrote, "The court is hopeful that the appointment of an independent compliance director with significant control over the OPD will succeed -- where city and OPD leaders have failed -- in helping OPD finally achieve compliance" with the 2003 settlement.

The compliance director will have the power to demote or fire the police chief, as well as to set an action plan for carrying out reforms such as reducing incidents of police use of unjustified force and racial profiling and improving investigations of citizen complaints.

The establishment of compliance director is one step short, however, of the more drastic measure of creating a federal receivership to take over the department entirely.

The proposal was agreed to last week by city officials and lawyers for 119 citizens who sued the city in 2000, and was submitted to Henderson for approval.

Before reaching the agreement, lawyers for the plaintiffs had previously asked the judge for a receivership to take partial control of the department because of the slow pace of reform.

Henderson ordered the two sides to submit sealed recommendations for compliance director candidates by Dec. 21 and to try to agree on a recommendation.

But he said the selection of a director "rests solely in the court's discretion" and will not be limited to the recommendations.

Henderson scheduled a status conference for June 6 to discuss progress in compliance with the 2003 settlement.

He warned in the order that if the Police Department fails to make acceptable progress under the compliance director, he will consider remedies that could include imposing fines, expanding the director's powers or establishing a full receivership.

The 2000 lawsuit alleged that four officers known as "the Riders" beat citizens, made false arrests and planted phony evidence between 1996 and 2000.

The settlement reached three years later called for 51 reforms, including increased field supervision of police officers, better training, and improved investigation of citizen complaints.

SJ: Man Suspected of Murdering Sierra LaMar Arraigned on New Kidnapping Charges

Antolin Garcia Torres, charged in the alleged murder and kidnapping of missing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar, was arraigned Wednesday on three new counts of attempted kidnapping in commission of a carjacking, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Torres, who leaned against a doorway during the brief hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court, waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 60 days of the arraignment, Deputy District Attorney David Boyd said.

Torres, who has yet to enter a plea on any of the charges, answered "Yes, your honor" and "Thank you, your honor" after Santa Clara County Judge Jerome Nadler asked him if he understood he would be giving up his right to a preliminary hearing within 60 days.

Nadler then set a hearing for Feb. 6 when Torres may enter a plea to murder and kidnapping charges related to the disappearance of LaMar, and the three new charges stemming from alleged attacks on three women in Morgan Hill in 2009.

A preliminary hearing on all of the allegations could be set after Torres enters a plea, Boyd said.

Torres, 21, was arrested on May 22 in connection with LaMar's disappearance.

The 15-year-old was last seen March 16 at a bus stop in Morgan Hill and prosecutors charge that Torres kidnapped and killed her and hid her body.

The charges of attempted kidnapping in commission of a carjacking came from alleged attacks on three women on March 19 and 26, 2009, in the parking lots of two Safeway stores in Morgan Hill, according to prosecutors.

After Torres was arrested in the suspected kidnap-murder of LaMar in May, police determined that he resembled the likeness of a sketch made of the suspect based on descriptions from victims in the 2009 attacks, which led to his arrest on those charges.

Torres used to work at a Safeway store on Tennant Avenue where one of the alleged attacks occurred.

The defendant was 17 at the time of three 2009 incidents, but Boyd received permission from a juvenile court judge to charge him as an adult.

Newark: Police Say Murder of 17-Year-Old Was Act of Revenge

Three reputed gang members were charged with murder Wednesday for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Newark high school student and football star Justice Afoa two years ago in what authorities said was an act of revenge.

Rafael Tovar, 32, of Newark, Daniel Howard, 31, of Fremont, and Daniela Guzman, 19, of Newark, who is Tovar's younger sister, are also charged with conspiracy to commit a crime for the fatal stabbing near the intersection of Cedar Boulevard and Birch Street in Newark at about 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2010.

Afoa was a defensive lineman at Newark Memorial High School and made second team all-league in the Mission Valley Athletic League in the 2009 season.

Newark police spokesman Mike Carroll said Afoa transferred to Bridgepoint Continuation High School in the fall of 2010 but after school he regularly walked to Newark Memorial High School, where he would work out and meet with his friends there.

Carroll said the location where Afoa was killed is only a short distance from the school.

According to a probable cause statement filed in court by Newark police Officer Dan Anderson, the event that sparked the chain of events that led to Afoa's death was when Afoa beat up Tovar at Tovar's home at 12:28 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2010.

Tovar was so badly beaten up by Afoa that he eventually had to be taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley for treatment, Anderson said.

Tovar later learned that Afoa had been bragging about beating him up and Tovar felt "great embarrassment" because he was a member of the Norteno gang and was much older than Afoa, according to Anderson.

On Oct. 30, six weeks after the first incident, Tovar plotted to attack Afoa at a party at 36187 Cedar Blvd. in Newark, Anderson said.

Afoa was assaulted with a beer bottle and a friend of his suffered "numerous severe stab wounds" but no arrests were made because the people involved in the incident were uncooperative with police, according to Anderson.

The officer said that when Afoa visited his friend in the hospital, where he was being treated for his stab wounds, Tovar confronted him and "told him he would get his."

Guzman later admitted that she had set up Afoa to be assaulted at the party in retaliation for the beating of Tovar, her brother, although she refused to disclose who the assailants were, according to Anderson.

Anderson said Tovar also planned to assault Afoa after a football game at Newark Memorial High School on Nov. 5, 2010, but school personnel learned of the incident and took precautions to avoid a disturbance.

Anderson said Tovar eventually admitted that he stabbed Afoa about five times on Dec. 15, 2010, and estimated that Howard also stabbed Afoa about five times.

Woodside: Deputies Tase Suspect in Assaulting Relative with Shovel

A man fled into a neighbor's house from an attack with a shovel by a relative who was later Tased by sheriff's deputies while he was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office first learned of the incident when the alarmed neighbor on Brookwood Road called to report an intruder in the house at 2:05 p.m.

The Woodside man who had fled into the neighbor's house told deputies that his relative, identified as Milo Imrie, 23, of Richmond, a veteran with combat training, had hit him in the back with a shovel near his home in the area of 150 Wildwood Way, sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Rosenblatt said.

The man was treated for his injuries at the scene.

The sheriff's office warned residents that the perpetrator could still be in the area with the shovel and was potentially dangerous and they began searching the neighborhood for the attacker.

He was located at about 4:20 p.m. in the 2300 block of Woodside Road but when deputies tried to take him into custody, he resisted, and deputies used a Taser to subdue him, Rosenblatt said.

Imrie was transported to a hospital to be treated for his injures.

No deputies were injured in the confrontation.

Imrie is also undergoing psychiatric evaluation in the hospital but is expected to be booked into jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Rosenblatt said.

Sonoma Co.: State Dep't of Public Health Seeks to Revoke License of Care Unit in Sonoma Developmental Center

The California Department of Public Health said Wednesday it is taking enforcement action against the Sonoma Developmental Center where there were allegations of physical abuse of 12 patients last year.

The CDPH said it is moving to revoke the license of the Sonoma Developmental Center's Intermediate Care Facility that services 290 residents with intellectual disabilities, and decertifying it from participation in the federal Medicaid program.

The population of the Sonoma Developmental Center was 520 in September.

Two surveys at the hospital disclosed several deficient conditions that included client to client abuse, physical abuse of a client by a staff member, a staff member exposing himself and failure to monitor a client who ingested a non-food item, CDPH officials said.

None of them were related to the alleged Tasing and physical abuse of patients by a healthcare provider at the center last year, CDPH officials said.

"The actions we are taking Wednesday are necessary to make sure that the Sonoma Developmental Center improves the quality of care that it is providing to its residents in the Intermediate Care Facility," said state Public Health Officer and CDPH's director, Dr. Ron Chapman.

The Sonoma Developmental Center has been under review by the California Department of Public Health due to non-compliance and incidents that have resulted in harm to patients, the CDPH said in a news release.

The Sonoma Developmental Center may appeal the CDPH's actions and can, under CDPH oversight, continue operations during the appeal, the CDPH said.

The appeal must be filed by Jan. 4. Terri Delgadillo, director of the state Department of Developmental Services, said, "We have removed the Executive Director and the Clinical Director (of the Sonoma Developmental Center) and taken disciplinary action against several employees, including job terminations."

"We will work with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and CDPH to ensure the Sonoma developmental Center's care meets state and federal standards," Delgadillo said.

Regional: 'King Tides' Hitting Bay Area this Week

Over the next three days, Californians can expect higher tides than usual along the coast.

With the arrival of the "King Tides" -- known for being the highest tides of the year -- an initiative is in place to show residents what the shoreline will be like in the future.

People are asked to take photos of the high tides in their communities to build an archive of images on how the shoreline is constantly changing, said Heidi Nutters of the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

The initiative began in 2010 as a pilot project in the Bay Area and has escalated into a statewide effort, Nutters said.

Since its inception, California King Tides Initiative has logged more than 500 photos, which can be viewed at www.flickr.com/groups/cakingtides.

"One of the important things to think about is that Wednesday's high tide of the year could become a daily occurrence," Nutters said.

Sea level is expected to rise about one foot by 2050, and up to five feet by 2100 along the California coast, Nutters said. Nutters said the high tides will take place Wednesday through Friday, and range in levels from a couple inches higher to several feet depending on a number of variables.

The highest estimated tide level during the initiative is 10.5 feet, at Coyote Creek in San Jose, according to the California King Tides Initiative website.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated the dates for the shorelines to be at its highest.

Other dates of the initiative throughout the winter include Jan. 9 to 11 and Feb. 7 to 9. One part of the initiative already took place Nov. 13 to 15.

To locate where and when tides will be the highest, visit www.californiakingtides.org/when

Concord: Council Votes to Move Toward Ban on Outdoor Pot Grows

Concord's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to move toward a citywide ban on outdoor marijuana cultivation.

City staff are now set to draft an ordinance along the lines of a Moraga law that completely bars outdoor marijuana grows in Concord, City Attorney Mark Coon said Wednesday.

Coon said a draft of the proposed ordinance should come before the city's planning commission next month.

Staff also presented the council with alternatives that would allow some outdoor marijuana cultivation with limitations, such as an ordinance found in Elk Grove.

But Coon recommended that the council follow an ordinance similar to Moraga's, which he said does not infringe on the rights of medical marijuana patients and caregivers, since medical marijuana may still be grown indoors.

"They can buy medical marijuana from one of the many nearby cities that has a medical marijuana dispensary," he said. "We don't believe we are cutting off avenues for medical marijuana patients and caregivers to obtain the medical marijuana they need."

Concord banned medical marijuana dispensaries in 2005.

The council's vote Tuesday came after numerous local residents voiced their own opinions both for and against a ban on outdoor marijuana grows.

The issue has been debated among city leaders and residents in recent months after one resident complained to the council that her neighbor's backyard medical marijuana grow was giving off an offensive odor.

Other major concerns include the possibility of outdoor marijuana plots drawing thieves and acting as an enticement for children in the community, Coon said.

On the other hand, some residents who use medical marijuana for themselves or for clients worried Tuesday that an outdoor growing ban could limit their access to the drug.

SF: Medical Examiner Found No Evidence of Trauma on Woman Found Dead in 1983, But She May Have Been Suffocated

A top official with the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office testified Wednesday in Superior Court that an autopsy preformed on a woman allegedly murdered in 1983 reported no signs trauma but he admitted someone could have suffocated her to death.

Dr. Joseph O'Hara, the lead examiner of the county coroner's office, said during a pre-trial hearing for accused murderer Christopher Holland that an autopsy done on the body of Tara Marowski in 1983 revealed no evidence of traumatic injury or sexual assault.

It was the second day of witness testimony in a preliminary examination to determine if there is sufficient evidence to try Holland in the 29-year-old former cold case, reopened by the district attorney's office last year following results of DNA tests that prosecutors allege link Holland to the murder.

On April 23, 1983, Marowski, 21, of San Jose, was found lying nude in the backseat of her car parked by a street in an unincorporated area just outside the Campbell city limits five days after she was seen leaving with two men from the now-closed New Cork Cocktail Lounge at 1422 Saratoga Ave.

Howard DeSart, a retired lieutenant with the sheriff's department who investigated Marowski's death in 1983, said in testimony for the prosecution Wednesday that some clothing had been piled on top of her unclad body and that her bra and t-shirt had been pulled up around her neck.

O'Hara, called as the first defense witness by public defender Michael Ogul, reviewed the findings of an autopsy performed on Marowski by the late Dr. Angelo Ozoa, who in 1983 was a pathologist for the county coroner's office and later served as its chief medical examiner.

Ozoa reported finding no signs of strangulation, such as hemorrhaging, no injuries, sperm cells or other indications of sexual abuse on the body and described Marowski's demise as a "non-traumatic death," O'Hara said.

Ogul asked O'Hara that since Marowski had been using "upper" drugs such as cocaine and "crank," a form of methamphetamine used in the 1980s, in the days prior to her death, if it was possible she may have died from a sudden cardiac arrest from intoxication.

O'Hara replied that Marowski's cocaine use may have caused her to suffer a spasm in her coronary artery, shutting down her heart and resulting in immediate death.

He also concurred with Ogul's suggestion that she could have died from a cardiac arrhythmia, an unexpected fatal heart attack suffered each year by thousands of people under age 40. 

Alameda Co.: New Haven Unified Wins More than $29 Million in Federal Funding

An East Bay school district on Tuesday was named as one of just 16 winners nationwide in a competition for federal funding for innovative education programs.

The New Haven Unified School District, which includes schools in Union City and south Hayward, will receive more than $29 million in funding in the next four-plus years from the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top District competition, district officials said.

The competition, which follows the 2009 Race to the Top contest that pushed statewide education reform, encourages localized plans to improve student achievement via technology and enhanced school services.

New Haven's application for the federal funds was ranked second in the nation and the district is the only one in the Bay Area -- and just one of three statewide -- that is receiving the money.

"This is a tremendous validation of the work that we've been doing in New Haven for the past few years, and every teacher, classified employee and administrator in the district should be proud of all they've done to make this possible," Superintendent Kari McVeigh said in a statement.

With the funds, the district plans to hire literacy, assessment and match coaches for all of its schools to engage in personalized learning.

Among other uses, the district will also expand online courses for high school students, create smaller class sizes for high school English learners and buy computer tablets for every sixth- through 12th-grader.

The competition attracted 372 applicants from around the country, with winners receiving awards ranging from $10 million to $40 million, depending on the number of students served.

"Districts have been hungry to drive reform at the local level, and now these winners can empower their school leaders to pursue innovative ideas where they have the greatest impact: in the classroom," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.

SF: Group Unveils Online Petition Asking Mirkarimi to Step Down as Sheriff

An online petition was unveiled Wednesday by a group asking San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi to resign from office following his conviction earlier this year.

The website www.rossresign.org was launched by Citizens for an Accountable Sheriff, a group headed by Andrea Shorter, a member of the city's Commission on the Status of Women.

Organizers are seeking 50,000 signatures on the petition from people "who are disappointed and do not feel he should be our sheriff at this time," Shorter said.

Mirkarimi pleaded guilty in March to misdemeanor false imprisonment for a New Year's Eve incident in which he grabbed his wife's arm during an argument, causing a bruise.

Mayor Ed Lee suspended the sheriff on official misconduct charges, but only seven members of the Board of Supervisors voted to uphold the charges, two short of the number necessary to permanently remove him from office.

Shorter said her group, which includes victims of domestic violence and other community members, is asking Mirkarimi to resign so that a costly recall effort can be avoided.

Organizers of a recall would have to collect signatures from 10 percent of the city's electorate to place the proposal in front of voters.

Shorter said costs of organizing such an effort have been estimated at a couple of million dollars.

A spokesperson for the sheriff was not immediately available this afternoon, but Mirkarimi has repeatedly said he plans to continue serving in office.

Shorter said she eventually plans to present the petition directly to Mirkarimi. "Our hope is through this grassroots, citizen-driven campaign, we will finally compel him to do the right thing ... that is to step down as sheriff," she said.

SF Bay Area Morning Weather Forecast

Partly cloudy skies are likely in the Bay Area this morning, with highs expected to be in the mid 50s and northern winds up to 15 mph.

Cloudy skies are likely tonight. Lows are expected to be in the mid 40s, with light winds.

Mostly cloudy skies and a chance of showers are likely on Friday.

Highs are expected to be in the mid 50s, with winds up to 10 mph.

 

Check out some of our most popular blogs:

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Martinez: Board of Supes Approves Plan to Shutter Four Fire Stations

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday evening to approve a plan to shutter four fire stations a month after voters rejected a parcel tax measure meant to prevent the closures.

The cost-saving service reduction plan drafted by Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Chief Daryl Louder comes a month after Measure Q, a $75 annual parcel tax designed to help close the district's $17 million budget deficit, failed to receive a two-thirds "super majority" vote.

Stations located at 700 Hawthorne Drive in Walnut Creek, at 6500 Center Ave. in Clayton, at 1240 Shell Ave. in Martinez and at 4007 Los Arabis Ave. in Lafayette are set to close in January.

The Lafayette station has been temporarily closed since June.

Those stations were selected for closure based on their location, call volume and emergency risk factors in the surrounding communities, fire officials said.

The closures will leave Walnut Creek with only three stations, Martinez and Lafayette with just two each, and Clayton without any fire station.

"We know that with longer response times, we have increased safety concerns for the public and increased safety concerns for our firefighters," Louder said. "We will continue to monitor the impact, monitor response times and evaluate the situation."

Louder said the closures, while a drastic measure, are the only viable alternative available since the fire district has spent through its reserves after years of falling property tax revenue and soaring pension and health care costs.

The chief explained that the district's personnel have taken pay cuts and contributed more to their pension and health care costs in recent years, but have been unable to solve their fiscal dilemma.

The plan is expected to save the financially embattled district $3 million over the next six months, according to the chief.

The district's current annual budget is over $102 million.

Sonoma Co.: Supes Table Resolution Lowering Allowable Amount of Medical Marijuana

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Tuesday evening tabled action on a resolution that would have lowered the county's allowable amount of marijuana for medical marijuana patients and caregivers.

Medical marijuana patients or their caregivers are currently allowed 30 plants and three pounds of processed marijuana per year.

The action before the board was to repeal that resolution and pass another one that allows only eight ounces of processed pot and six mature or 12 immature plants.

After dozens of the medical marijuana patients spoke for nearly two hours against repealing the resolution, Board Chair Shirlee Zane closed the public hearing before everyone had a chance to speak because Supervisor Valerie Brown, who was attending her last meeting, had to leave early.

That prompted an outcry from those who had not yet spoken.

Brown then made a motion to table the issue and it passed unanimously. Speakers said the lower allowable amounts are insufficient medicine, and the board was in effect re-criminalizing medical marijuana.

Attorney Chris Andrian told the board repealing the current resolution "would create chaos in the court system." "Every case will require litigation," Andrian said regarding arrests for violations of the lowered amounts.

Other critics said there was no input from caregivers, marijuana dispensaries and other stakeholders, including the public, before the ad hoc committee made its recommendation to lower the marijuana amounts and bring it before the Board of Supervisors at its last meeting of the year.

Zane and Brown were on an ad hoc committee that recommended the lower threshold.

The committee said illegal use of marijuana is increasing in the county, especially among youths, and growing operations in unoccupied homes and on rural land is creating environmental and health and safety problems.

Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas told the supervisors his investigators report growers from outside the county and Bay Area perceive Sonoma County as being permissive toward growing medical marijuana.

Board members said they are not targeting medical marijuana users but the lucrative criminal trade that has developed in the county and is costing the sheriff's office $2 million a year investigating marijuana-related complaints.

Opponents said lowering the allowable amount to the state's default possession and cultivation limits for medicinal pot is not the solution to the illegal grows.

Regional: Crab Dispute Ends After Agreement Reached on Dungeness Price

Dozens of Bay Area crab boats are preparing to head out to sea again after a weeklong standoff over the price of fresh Dungeness crab ended Tuesday, an industry spokesman said.

Crab fishing boats in San Francisco, Bodega Bay and Half Moon Bay had been idle since Dec. 5, when dockside fish brokers tried to offer a price below $3 per pound for Dungeness crab, said Larry Collins, president of the Crab Boat Owners Association in San Francisco.

Collins said Tuesday afternoon that an agreement has been reached between fishermen and brokers that would put crab boats back in operation and fresh crab back on Bay Area menus.

"We got the $3 per pound we were asking for," Collins said. Angel Cincotta, a spokeswoman for San Francisco-based fish broker Alioto-Lazio Fish Company, confirmed the agreement and said fresh crab would start showing up in supermarkets and restaurants by Friday.

Collins said he and other fishermen would prepare their boats to head out early this morning. John Draper, assistant harbormaster at Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, said as many as 50 boats were preparing to head out as early as Tuesday night.

"They're all going to head out at midnight," he said.

Crab season opened in Bay Area fisheries on Nov. 15 and runs through June, according to the Department of Fish and Game. 

Lafayette: City Leaders Expect Massive Sinkhole to be Repaired by Christmas

Lafayette city leaders said Tuesday that they expect a massive sinkhole caused by heavy rain earlier this month to be repaired by Christmas Day.

The city has hired C.C. Myers, a renowned emergency freeway contractor, to fill the 15-foot-deep sinkhole on Mountain View Drive, City Manager Steve Falk said.

Repair work on the sinkhole began Tuesday morning.

The giant hole formed after a Dec. 2 storm pelted the area with rain and eroded a large portion of the roadway.

Falk said he originally expected to have the sinkhole filled by as late as this summer, but that the City Council moved to hire C.C. Myers to complete the repairs as soon as possible.

"I think what really motivated the council to get going on this was the fact that the detour created delays to emergency personnel in the event of 911 calls," Falk said. Rather than wait six months or longer to go through a contractor bidding process, he said, the council decided to hire C.C. Myers, Inc., which has a solid history of completing large-scale emergency projects, he said.

The emergency roadway construction firm has handled a wide range of major projects after California catastrophes, including freeway repairs in the wake of the Loma Prieta earthquake and the replacement of a fire-damaged portion of the MacArthur Maze that disintegrated after a gas truck crashed and caught fire in 2007.

Falk said the city will pay up to $600,000 for the sinkhole repairs.

City officials have not yet determined how to fund the project, but Falk said a mix of grant funding and insurance coverage may be used.

In addition to blocking a connector street for a few different neighborhoods in the area, the gaping hole created by the recent storm is also blocking a driveway for one resident -- newly elected Lafayette Mayor Mike Anderson, Falk said.

"I think of all the people in town, he's probably the best person to have that problem ... he understands the constraints we work under," the city manager said.

Oakland: Children's Hospital Gets $5 Million Gift from Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente gave a $5 million grant to Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland Tuesday to assist the nonprofit medical center's ambitious rebuilding and modernization efforts and improve the quality of care it provides to children.

Dr. Bert Lubin, Children's president and chief executive, said he's "extremely grateful" for Kaiser Permanente's generous donation but admitted that it's a only small percentage of the $450 million Children's hopes to raise for its rebuilding work in the next five to ten years.

However, Lubin said he believes that getting a major contribution from Kaiser will spur other organizations to step forward and provide additional donations to the hospital.

Lubin also said that Gregory Adams, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals Inc. in Northern California, announced Tuesday that Kaiser could contribute up to another $20 million to Children's over the next four years.

Kaiser will review Children's progress each of the next four years and will consider additional $5 million donations each year, he said.

Children's Oakland has the Bay Area's only Level 1 pediatric trauma center, which means that it provides the highest level of surgical care to trauma patients.

Adams said in a statement, "Our support of Children's is an investment in the safety net and the future of health care." Adams said, "No single organization can meet all the growing needs in our communities so it is important that business, government, non-profits and individuals work together to most effectively meet the challenges ahead."

Children's officials said since their hospital's inception in 1912 they've remained committed to delivering specialized health care to all children in the region and beyond, regardless of a family's ability to pay.

Children's officials said that with no public pediatric hospital beds in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, their hospital is the safety net for both counties, in addition to caring for privately insured patients.

Lubin said Children's biggest challenge is increasing its number of individual patient rooms, as most rooms now have to accommodate two families on each side of a curtain, meaning that patients and their families don't have much privacy.

"It's important to allow privacy because the standard of care now calls for families to stay with children who need treatment", Lubin said.

Oakland: Officers Who Went Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Are Honored

Oakland police officers who went above and beyond the call of duty in dealing with the gunman in the city's largest mass killing, helping to deliver a baby at a gas station and handling other emergencies were honored Tuesday.

At a ceremony at police headquarters, police Chief Howard Jordan said, "Today's award recipients represent the best of the Oakland Police Department. Their acts reflect commitment not only to the community we serve but to the law enforcement profession as a whole."

Jordan said the honorees displayed "expertise, courage, morals, values and dedication."

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan told the honorees as well as other officers in attendance that, "We ask a lot of you and most citizens in Oakland appreciate the job you do."

Quan said, "The Oakland Police Department is doing its best and has one of the toughest jobs in the city."

A total of 16 officers were recognized for their response to the April 2 shooting at Oikos University.

Former student One Goh, 43, is accused of murdering seven people and wounding three others in the biggest mass killing in Oakland's history.

Capt. Brian Medeiros, who retired last month to join the Alameda County District Attorney's Office as an inspector, received the Chief's Leadership Award for coordinating the many law enforcement agencies which responded to the shooting.

Capt. Ersie Joyner, who presented the award's Tuesday, praised Medeiros' work at what he described as "a scene of magnitude not often seen in law enforcement."

Fifteen officers received the Silver Star, the department's second-highest honor for distinguished and courageous acts, for their roles in responding to the Oikos shooting.

Joyner praised Officer Richard Niven for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a female shooting victim until paramedics arrived and for escorting three witnesses to a secure location.

Others who were given the Silver Star were sergeants Rick Andreotti, Dom Arotzarena, Michael Beaver, Patrick Gonzales, Roland Holmgren and Mike Reilly and Officers Dave Burke, Andres Garza, now with San Francisco, James Henry, Francisco Negrete, Diane Ward and John Fukuda.

Oakland public school police officers Michael Creighton and Antonio Fregoso also received the award.

Santa Cruz Co.: Hundreds of Red Squid Wash Ashore on Local Beaches

Scientists are trying to determine why hundreds of red Humboldt squid have washed ashore in Santa Cruz County this week.

According to researchers at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station research center, there a couple of reasons why the 18-inch-long squid -- more commonly found in warmer waters near the Sea of Cortez -- are beaching themselves along the coasts of Central and Northern California.

"We have two main theories," graduate student Hanna Rosen said. "The first is that the strandings seem to occur when the squid invade a new area."

"The squid that have washed ashore on beaches around Monterey and Santa Cruz since October appear to be adolescents, and they were likely following atypical warm currents and prey to the region", Rosen said.

"When the squid have come up here in the past, it has correlated with El Nino," she said.

Once the squid establish themselves, the beachings will likely decrease, Rosen said.

The second explanation for the strandings is related to the squid's food supply, which could have become temporarily contaminated by a harmful algae bloom.

Red algae secretes a toxin that can affect the squid's central nervous system and "cause them to become disoriented," Rosen said.

Scientists from the Hopkins Marine Station and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have collected beached specimens and will be working to find out exactly why the squid are in the area and why periodic strandings occur.

Humboldt squid, which are not endangered, can grow to a length of seven feet and weigh up to 100 pounds.

SJ: Former Deputy Testifies Seeing Nude Body of Murdered Woman inside Car in 1983

Christopher Holland, gray-bearded and hunched over, listened Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court to testimony by two retired peace officers during a hearing on whether he should stand trial in the murder of a 21-year-old woman outside San Jose back in 1983.

The former cold case murder of San Jose resident Tara Marowski was reopened last year by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, which arrested Holland following results of DNA tests allegedly linking him to the murder, according to the district attorney's office.

Holland, 57, already has been charged in the 1983 murder of 17-year-old Cynthia Munoz, who was killed four months after Marowski was slain.

A 2007 preliminary hearing in that case also involved DNA results used as evidence.

This week's preliminary examination hearing, expected to end by Thursday, is to determine if enough evidence exists to try Holland for Marowski's murder, Deputy District Attorney David Boyd said.

The district attorney's office has added special circumstances to the murder charges in both cases, alleging that Holland raped both women before killing them, Boyd said.

If Holland is found guilty on either of the murder charges with special circumstances, he could face a sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, Boyd said.

The first witness in the hearing Tuesday, Mark Faler, a former Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy, described seeing Marowski's nude body in the backseat of her 1973 Plymouth Duster on April 2, 1983, in unincorporated San Jose.

Faler, now 60, recalled as a deputy sheriff arriving at the scene at 997 Carola Ave., a couple of blocks north of the city of Campbell, at about 9 a.m. and soon noticing an odor coming from a slightly-opened window of the car.

"It smelled like decayed human body to me," Faler said under examination by Boyd.

Faler testified that he approached the car, which was locked, looked in a window and noticed a human body in the backseat with clothing spread over it.

He said he questioned a person at the scene, Brian Bueno, who told him his wife was a friend of Marowski's, that Marowski had not been seen for a week, that he heard someone had seen her car and that he then drove to the spot and found it.

Faler testified that after the coroner arrived to remove the body, clothing piled on top of the body was removed, revealing that the body was nude.

Oakland: One Killed, Two Injured in Separate Shootings Yesterday

A man was killed and two other people were injured in separate Oakland shootings Tuesday.

The homicide was reported at 8:39 p.m. in the 800 block of Hawkins Drive near 92nd Avenue in East Oakland, Officer J. Moore said.

Police found a man suffering from gunshot wounds who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just minutes later across the city a woman was shot, Moore said.

The shooting was reported at 8:41 p.m. in the 900 block of 18th Street in West Oakland.

The woman victim was transported to a hospital in stable condition, Moore said.

Tuesday afternoon another shooting was reported in North Oakland, just blocks from where another victim was shot on Monday night.

Tuesday's shooting was reported at 2:34 p.m. in the 400 block of 60th Street.

A man found shot there was taken to a hospital in stable condition but was uncooperative with the police investigation, Moore said.

Monday night a victim was hospitalized after suffering a gunshot wound in the 500 block of 59th Street, less than half a mile away.

Police have not identified any suspects in any of the shootings.

Santa Clara Co.: Lick Observatory Employee Killed in Crash on Mount Hamilton

A maintenance employee at the Lick Observatory was killed when his pickup truck plunged off a rural road on Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County Tuesday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP first received reports that the Ford Ranger pickup had left the road on Mount Hamilton Road just south of the observatory at 12:08 p.m.

The driver, a man in his 50s, was a state maintenance employee at the observatory, which is at the mountain's summit, according to the CHP.

He was trapped inside the truck after it fell, and CHP officers were on scene throughout the afternoon partly because the rural mountain road is difficult to access.

The coroner was called at about 1:30 p.m. and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

SF Bay Area Morning Weather Forecast

Mostly cloudy skies and showers are likely in the Bay Area this morning, with highs expected to be in the mid 50s and winds up to 15 mph.

Cloudy skies and showers are likely tonight. Lows are expected to be in the lower 40s, with northeast winds up to 10 mph.

Partly cloudy skies are expected on Thursday. Highs are likely to be in the mid 50s, with winds up to 10 mph.

 

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Legislation that would require San Francisco property owners to tell potential tenants whether smoking is allowed there was approved by a Board of Supervisors committee today and sent to the full board for approval.

Under the ordinance, co-sponsored by Supervisors Eric Mar and David Campos, landlords would have to designate whether an apartment in a multi-unit building allows smoking and provide a list of those units to prospective tenants.

Under current laws, prospective tenants "are kept in the dark over whether smoking is permitted in units in close proximity, and this will help to resolve that," Mar said.

Speaking at a news conference before the afternoon meeting of the board's Land Use and Economic Development committee, he said the proposal would reduce nuisance complaints and disputes between neighbors over secondhand smoke.

The legislation was developed with the input of tenant advocates, such as the Mission SRO Collaborative, and landlords represented by the San Francisco Apartment Association, Mar said.

Kendra Froshman, a community organizer with the Mission SRO Collaborative, called the ordinance "a no-nonsense approach to dealing with health issues in SROs and apartments."

The legislation protects tenants by requiring that units be designated based on current lease agreements and could not be changed unless a resident voluntarily agreed to the smoke-free designation, Froshman said.

Charley Goss from the San Francisco Apartment Association said landlords also back the legislation because fewer leases would be broken over complaints over secondhand smoke from neighboring apartments.

Goss said the ordinance would provide more clarity in the city, which has many older buildings with long-term tenants whose leases do not include language about whether smoking is allowed.

Owners with 50 or fewer residential units in the city would have one year to comply with the legislation while those with more than 50 units would have two years, Mar said.

Some speakers at today's committee hearing said the city should go further and ban smoking inside apartments, citing a similar ban approved just last week in Petaluma.

Mar responded that his legislation was "a first step" and that "we need to do much more" on the issue of smoking.

The board committee ultimately unanimously approved the legislation and sent it to the full board, as well as an ordinance that would ban smoking at certain street fairs and festivals in the city, such as the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair and the Fillmore Jazz Festival.

 

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One person was seriously injured this morning when a car crashed down a cliff off of Skyline Boulevard in Daly City, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

The crash was reported on southbound Skyline Boulevard, which is also state Highway 35, near Olympic Way at about 4:20 a.m., CHP Sgt. Steve Shirer said.

A Dodge Charger left its lane and traveled about 300 feet down a steep dropoff on the western side of the roadway, Shirer said.

A man in the car was seriously injured, and southbound lanes were closed for more than an hour while rescue crews extracted him from the wreckage, Shirer said.

Fire crews set up a cliff rescue operation, using a winch to gain access to the vehicle. The victim was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, he said.

A second occupant of the vehicle was not injured. Skyline Boulevard reopened to traffic at about 5:30 a.m., though crews remained at the scene and the vehicle had not yet been towed back to the roadway as of 8:30 a.m.

The crash remains under investigation by the CHP.

 

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A federal judge in San Francisco has dismissed a lawsuit filed by six environmental groups concerned about protection of two imperiled species at the Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, in a decision issued last week, said a biological opinion released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in October made the lawsuit moot.

In that opinion, the federal agency said golf course maintenance and operations at the site are "not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the California red-legged frog or San Francisco garter snake."

The opinion also included a list of terms and conditions that the city of San Francisco, which owns and operates the park's 18-hole golf course, must follow in maintaining the site.

The California red-legged frog is federally listed as an endangered species and the San Francisco garter snake is listed as a threatened species.

The conservation groups claim that pumping water out of the park kills frog egg masses by exposing them to air and causing them to dry up, and that grass mowers and motorized golf carts run over snakes and frogs.

Illston wrote in her Dec. 6 decision that the lawsuit is now moot because the city is required to comply immediately with the conditions in the Fish and Wildlife Service's opinion.

Chris Carr, a lawyer for San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, said, "We're very pleased the judge's decision will allow this historic public locale to continue to serve golfers of all means and levels in the Bay Area."

The alliance was allowed to join the case to help the city defend against the lawsuit. Groups filing the lawsuit included the Wild Equity Institute, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Wild Equity Institute attorney Brent Plater said the groups' next step could be the filing of a new lawsuit, but said that who the plaintiffs and defendants would be "depends on a variety of factors and remains unsettled."

Plater said the underlying question in the dispute is "Do we want to continue to subsidize a suburban golf course in San Mateo County and jeopardize the most beautiful and imperiled serpent in North America?"

 

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A man found fatally shot in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley neighborhood on Friday evening has been identified by the medical examiner's office as 35-year-old Antione Murray.

The shooting was reported at about 7:10 p.m. in the 100 block of Blythdale Avenue, police said.

Officers found Murray, a San Francisco resident, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests had been made in the case as of this morning, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.

 

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A man was critically injured when he was robbed and stabbed in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood early Saturday morning, police said today.

The 44-year-old victim walked into a hotel in the 600 block of Polk Street around midnight and reported the stabbing and robbery.

He then walked back outside to a street corner and collapsed, according to police.

The victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital to be treated for his injuries, which are considered life-threatening, police said.

No arrests had been made and no suspect information was available in connection with the attack as of this morning.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.

 

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Vallejo: Water Search Conducted for Man Missing Near Mare Island

The disappearance of a 77-year-old man from Mare Island triggered a search of the water Sunday, according to Vallejo police.

Vallejo police were contacted around 8 a.m. Sunday by a 52-year-old man on the 900 block of Nimitz Avenue on Mare Island who said his father was missing, Lt. Kenny Park said.

The father, 77-year-old Phillip Mattingly, a Fair Oaks resident who has a tugboat docked on Mare island, was last seen Saturday evening around 5 p.m.

Police quickly became concerned because his boat and vehicle were still in the area, and his personal effects were still there and intact.

There were no signs of foul play, but it appeared likely that he might have fallen into the water, Park said.

The Solano County Sheriff's Office dive team and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search of the area, but Park said their search efforts were hampered by poor conditions, including a strong current.

Officials plan to resume the search when conditions improve, but Park was unsure when that would be.

Park said Mattingly apparently took his boat out regularly, and may have been in the area to do some maintenance work. 

SF: Northbound Caltrain Hits Car on Tracks at 16th Street 

A northbound train struck a car on the Caltrain tracks at 16th Street in San Francisco Sunday evening, but no one was injured.

No one was inside the car and no one was injured when the northbound train 439 struck it around 5:30 p.m., according to Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn.

Because Caltrain operates only hourly service on Sunday evenings, delays were minimal, Dunn said. Dunn said she didn't know how the car ended up on the tracks. 

Vallejo: Man Stabbed in the Back After Argument with Two Men

A Vallejo man was stabbed Sunday evening after a verbal altercation with two men he passed on the street, according to police.

The victim, a 53-year-old man who lives a mental health care facility, was walking on the 400 block of Fordham Circle around 6:30 p.m. when he was heckled and made fun of by two suspects, Lt. Kenny Park said.

The victim and the suspects got into an argument, and then the suspects allegedly chased the victim and stabbed him in the back.

He suffered a non-life threatening injury and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, Park said. Police detained two suspects but the victim has not yet been able to identify them, Park said.

The suspects are described as two Hispanic males in their mid to late 30s, around 5 feet 10 inches tall and 170 pounds. 

Menlo Park: Truckee Man Arrested after Shots Fired at Home During Fight

A Truckee man was arrested Sunday after allegedly firing shots at a Menlo Park home, according to police.

The shots were fired around 1:30 a.m. Sunday at a home on the 1300 block of Windermere Avenue, according to Menlo Park police.

After residents provided a description of the suspect, police located him driving away from the scene, Sgt. Tim Brackett said.

Geoffrey Smith, 24, was stopped and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a handgun was found in his vehicle, Brackett said.

The victims told police that Smith, a Truckee resident, is known to them and that they had been having an argument before he fired shots at them.

No one was injured in the incident. 

Alameda Co.: Bicyclist Killed Saturday After Crashing into Rock Identitified

A bicyclist who died Saturday after crashing into a rock near Fremont has been identified as 66-year-old John Pickens, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau.

The California Highway Patrol received a report of a cyclist down in the roadway near the intersection of Palomares and Niles Canyon Road in a rural area of Alameda County near Fremont.

Pickens, a Newark resident, died from his injuries. The incident remains under investigation.

Watsonville: Police Seeking Help Tracking Down Suspect from Stabbing Incident

Police in Watsonville are seeking the public's help in tracking down a man in connection with a stabbing incident Saturday night.

Officers went to Watsonville Community Hospital to speak to the victim of a reported stabbing at about 11:30 p.m., police said.

The victim told police he was talking with a woman in the area of East Lake Avenue and Lincoln Street at about 11 p.m. when a man approached and stabbed him in the neck, police said.

He was transported to the hospital to be treated for his wounds, which are not considered life threatening, police said. The motive of the suspect is unknown, according to police.

Walnut Creek: Cadillac Crashes into Bridge Club Building

A 4-door Cadillac crashed into a building in Walnut Creek Sunday afternoon, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

Officers responded to reports of a vehicle into a building at the Diablo Valley Bridge Center located at 2920 Camino Diablo at about 12:40 p.m., CHP Officer James Evans said.

Arriving officers found a Cadillac sedan that had crashed completely inside the bridge club, Evans said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries, he said. The crash remains under investigation.

SJ: 14-Year-Old Boy Stabbed at Christmas in the Park Event

A 14-year-old boy was injured in a stabbing at San Jose's Christmas in the Park event on Saturday night, a police spokesman said.

Officers responded to reports of a stabbing at Plaza de Cesar Chavez near Almaden Boulevard and Park Avenue at about 8:50 p.m., San Jose police Officer Albert Morales said.

Arriving officers found a teenage boy who had been stabbed at least once, Morales said.

The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not expected to be life threatening, he said.

Witnesses told police that three suspects in their teens or early 20s were seen fleeing the area. No one was arrested. The incident is being investigated as gang related, Morales said. 

Antioch: Stabbing Victim Collapses on Porch of Home

A man collapsed on the porch of an Antioch home after being stabbed early Sunday morning, according to police.

The stabbing was discovered around 1:30 a.m. when a resident on West 17th Street called to report a suspicious man on his front porch, Sgt. Dimitri Barakos said.

Police found the man, a 33-year-old Antioch resident, and provided aid after they determined that he had been stabbed multiple times.

The victim was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition with non life-threatening injuries, Barakos said.

SF Bay Area Morning Weather Forecast 

Sunny skies are likely in the Bay Area this morning, with highs expected to be in the mid 60s and winds between 5 and 10 mph.

Mostly clear skies are expected tonight. Lows are likely to be in the upper 40s, with light winds.

Sunny skies are expected on Tuesday. Highs likely to be in the upper 50s, with winds around 5 mph.

 

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