right now at 11:00, play ball. we are looking live at oracle park where the excitement is building as the giants prepare to open their season against the miami marlins. we have live coverage from the ballpark. guess who got the best assignment of the day. thank you for joining us for our midday news. marcus and laura are off. i'm kris sanchez. first pitch is about an hour and a half away. this year things feel very different. they feel normal. cierra johnson is live at oracle park with what we can expect this upcoming season.

>> thank you. i'll say it again, i think i have the best assignment of the day. we're here opening day. the giants taking on the marlins. i do want to take a look back. about 365 days ago, i was standing on the outside with a mask, breaking down what folks needed to know about a covid-type opening day. 22% capacity. 9,000 fans. today, a much different story. we're a little past that and folks are really excited for opening day. so here's what you need to know. first pitch scheduled for 1:35. this is the second time the giants will take on the marlins on opening day. and you can expect to see that banner drop from last season. you can of course catch this game on nbc bay area sports. for the fans, there are several activities planned for opening day. the rest of the front office tell me there are several surprises in store.

we saw one individual walking around. i'm excited. i won't give that surprise away. that individual singing the national anthem and as i mentioned the lowering of that banner. >> opening day is like the first day of school. like national holiday. we know it is something that happens every year so you look forward to it with anticipation. it brings fans back to the ballpark. it brings friends together. season ticket holders, whether we moved here in '58 or your first time to the park. just reuniting with people and seeing your favorite players on the field. the smells of the food. it is a gorgeous day. and the grass, just being together. >> reporter: and we did have the chance to speak with manager gabe kapler. he was asked, how does it feel to have an opening day coming off a winning season, 107 wins last season. and he really opened up.

he said last season, this team was selfless. they say they were prepared and it is really the same energy they're bringing into 2022. a lot of the same returning players really set to be an exciting game. he said they treat opening day like a big game. some teams look at it like a warm-up but opening day, he said in his opinion, is a big game. first pitch, 1:35. nbc bay area sports. the place to watch it. a lot of excitement leading up to that first pitch. we're live inside oracle park. cierra johnson, nbc bay area news. >> you can see it is already sunny there at oracle and the temperatures will be i think just right. >> good thing opening day wasn't yesterday. it was hot out there. now temperatures will head to the upper 60s at first pitch. notice the wind gusts. 22 miles an hour that stay windy

throughout the game even as our temperatures go up a degree or two. and then as we go into the evening, it starts to cool off that take a look at that live view. it is a beautiful day and in san francisco, we are nowhere close to a record high temperature as we look at a high of 68 degrees there. the record is 94. but there may be records set for the inland areas like santa rosa and concord that will be a couple of degrees above that forecast high, above the record that we have for today. in oakland, maybe just a degree above a record or below. we'll be watching those numbers closely with you overall trend is that it is cooling off, and that's what we will see going into the weekend. we'll talk more about that as well as when we can see some rain in the forecast, coming up a little later. >> all right. thank you so much. getting to and from the ballpark today could be a bit of a challenge. mike has some tips to make your trip a little bit easier. >> yes. check this out.

this is the web page devoted to oracle park on the major league baseball site. they actually have an app devoted to all the ballparks but today we're focusing on opening day at oracle park. this portion says getting to oracle park there. they'll let you know about getting there by car but we expect congestion. opening day, it says to take transit or reserve parking. talk about reservations, you can see what prices there are around the ballpark on their webb. also, information about transit, we have schedules and delays and alerts. muni, we know about that. and they're also talking about the ferries. i've never taken a ferry to the ballpark but it looks like a spectacular view. it looks great coming to the city from across the north bay. it must be equally great getting into mccovy cove. >> thank you. if you're not lucky enough to go to the cove, you can watch the giants game on nbc sports bay

area. pregame ceremony starts at 1:00 and of course, first pitch, 1:35. all right. new this morning. a new bombshell out of san francisco's city hall tied to the long simmering public works scandal. environment director debbie rafael has suddenly resigned. this is video from 2013 when she was the director of the state's department of toxic substances control. her sus departure comes amidst reports that the city attorney's office plans to release findings into an investigation into the environment department. the san francisco standard this week reported on questionable donation. she received from recology tied with a north bay contract. that was the waste company recology that took down one time public works director mohammed nuru. and the hit and run that killed two women.

police now know what vehicle and driver they're looking for. it happened at 6:30 last night at ocala avenue and oakton circle. investigators now say a red pickup truck was traveling westbound on ocala and the victims were walking in a marked crosswalk. there is a photo of the car just released moments ago. this was last seen near capitol express way. there is no information on the make of the truck but it looks like an extended cab pick-up of some sort. into our newsroom, if you saw smoke in down san jose, this is the reason why. it was coming from a small kitchen fire at the city fish. this happened near second and santa clara. new video into our newsroom shows firefighters responding to the season. right now you can hear the alarms going off and it appears the fire is just about out. at least 50 people are confirmed dead, including five

children after a rocket attack on a train station in eastern ukraine. the trains were taking refugees to safety. scott mcgrew joins us. russia denies that it attacked that train station but the pictures speak for themselves. >> until recently, russia denied it invaded ukraine so take russia for the granl of salt its worth. it happened off to the east in the donetsk region. this is the area russia claims the pro russia. you can see toys and strollers and suitcases after the injured and dead were taken away. it is a terrible season. keep in mind when we show you this on television, these are edited so you don't see the worst. it is. so more horrific than this. the ukrainian president zelensky continues to rally other countries to his cause. he just spoke with the finnish parliament warning them russia could invade them and that

russia could leave the kind of destruction ukraine is experiencing right now. finland, not a member of nato, though it works closely with nato. a growing number of finns want to join. finland would be welcome if that's what it chooses to do. meantime, military leaders told congress they're doing everything to help ukraine while avoiding conflict with russia. russia is not responding. >> both the chairman and myself have frequently reached out to our hearts in russia to try to ensure that we maintain a dialogue that is in the last, since mid-february. that's not been very successful because the russians have not responded. >> more updates. the country of slovakia said it will send anti-aircraft missiles to ukraine to help ukraine defend itself from air strikes. moments ago the united states announced it will send replacement missiles, patriots,

to slovakia for replacements for those missiles. >> a reminder, we have not heard anything from the white house on that just yet. >> no, we have not. this morning, celebrating an historic moment at the white house and the soon to be newest supreme court justice. president biden and vice president harris join judge kentanji brown jackson a short while ago on the white house lawn. >> it has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a black woman to be selected to serve on the supreme court of the united states. but we've made it. >> the president called it a moment of real change. u.s. senators narrowly voted to confirm jackson. the date for her swearing in ceremony has not yet been set but it will likely happen before the start of the next term and

after justice steven breyer returns this summer. all right. in our final episode of our streaming series saving san francisco, we asked the question. if we can save one homeless man, can we save the city? we go to jail and talk to james durgin. we asked about his alleged obsession with ann. >> she says you're obsessed with her. >> obsessed? that's a strong word to use. >> how would you describe your relationship with ann? >> with ann? well, i don't have one with her. i've never spoken to her. i've never actually even met her. >> do you remember showing up to her house naked one night? >> do i remember that? gosh, do i remember, let me try this.

i showed up without clothes on because my friend recommended to me that i show how sorry i was about things. >> you can watch saving san francisco by downloading nbc bay area app for your roku or other streaming device or you can go to nbcbayarea.com/saving san francisco. a pivotal meeting right now in hollywood. the focus, will smith's infamous slap on chris rock. and we're counting down to opening day giants, shining the spotlight on players making their debut here. this is carlos rodon, the first round pitcher, debuted in the bigs the next scenic. he signed a two-year deal with the giants.

new this morning, the first all private crew now traveling to the international space station. a former astronaut with three paying customers took off this morning from kennedy's space station aboard a falcon 9 rocket. they are expected to arrive at the international space station tomorrow morning. the crew will spend eight days aboard the space station. happening today, oscar academy members need to decide the fate of movie star will smith. the question is what kind of punishment he should get for slapping comedian chris rock on stage during the academy awards. some believe smith should have his best actor award taken away. the academy originally scheduled

this for two weeks from now but pushed it up to address it more quickly. smith has since apologized for his actions and resigned from the academy. so you can expect to pay a little less on your next pg&e bill. bills will be lower because of a biannual bill credit to combat climate change. natural gas customers will save a little more than $47. electricity customers will get a bill that is 40 lower. customers who have both will receive an $87 credit. it is a mixed day on wall street. the dow is trading higher amid optimism that the fed will take a measured approach in raising interest rates to fight inflation. you can see the dow was down as of earlier. the nasdaq was trading lower by a little less than 1%. this week, dozens of artists will race against each other in the return of the sf momah

derby. the last time it was back in 1978. it will be back this weekend in the city. the first time in 44 years. you're probably thinking, that doesn't look like a soap box. the idea is you get a bunch of artists, over 50 of them, to come up with their open idea. it has to be self-propelled, brakes, wheels, that sort of thing. i would have thought lobster but you went with shrimp. >> it all started, as artists, we have to find ways to support ourselves. i kept hearing about how lucrative shrimp farming is. so we tried our hand in it. i tried my hand in it.

>> so you're not kidding. that was the inspiration for creating the shrimp car. >> yeah. before we started our art handling business, we were tried to breed shrimp. it didn't work out but this is an homage to all the hustlers out there. >> this is not your typical so many box. typically you get in a soap box. here you're saddling it. >> yeah. i thought the horse aesthetic on the shrimp would pair nicely. >> have you taken it for a test run since you're the one racing on sunday? >> yeah. i did it and it was pretty smooth. the steel frame has proven itself. >> reporter: how fast? >> about 15 miles an hour. i'll try to get a bunch of people to push me at the start line. >> reporter: and what is the incline? >> about a 15% incline. >> reporter: are you going to have a helmet? are you going for style, speed?

a combination? >> all the above. >> reporter: all right. good luck. first time in 44 years. what are you calling it? >> the shrimp car. >> reporter: a good name. how did you come up with that? this sunday, the actual race time i believe is at 11:00 a.m. they'll have activities going from 10:00 to 5:00 here in the city. here in san francisco, nbc bay area news. >> isn't that shrimp ranger maybe? >> yeah. we might need that on monday. >> it is such a good thing that opening day is today and not yesterday. it was scorching. >> yeah. can you imagine? >> yeah. it is going to be much nicer today. kind of a gusty wind kicking up. we're seeing these about ten degrees cooler than yesterday. we're already at 73 yeses in san

jose. just keep in mind that normal for this time of year is upper 60s. we're already above that. and it is heating up in dublin. 81 degrees. one of the warmest on the ma'am. we're already at 77 in morgan hill and san martin. then take a look at the higher temperatures. we're going up ten degrees in a lot of the areas. notice the breeze and the highs in the upper 60s. the breeze continues to help us out all over the bay area for tomorrow so make some plans to get outside. our highs will reach into the mid to upper 70s. at the end of the weekend, we'll see fairfield reaching 75. 71 in napa. in san francisco, 64 degrees. we'll have some gusty winds. we could see some of the gusts in some of the areas shaded in

orange, up to 60 miles per hour. that could bring down some trees. we could have some widespread light rain on monday. that system looks like it is breaking up, possibly another storm system late next weekend. as far as snow, it would be nice but the models are going back and forthwith possibly a foot of snow for the sierra. for rain, a quarter inch of rain or less. so not a whole lot. after such hot weather, we do need a lot more rain but at least we have the cooler temperatures coming in. highs into the low 60s. and san francisco will go from the upper 60s to the upper 50s by monday. off and on rain and gusty winds will continue in the forecast. so a lot of ranges here but i think it is a welcome sight for the weekend. >> next weekend, spring break will feel like winter break.

thanks. coming up, you make the call. home runs or garlic fries? a live look from nbc bay area sky ranger over oracle park. coming up, we take a back seat on today's opening game. we'll show you the new things on tap this season. and happening now, actor sarah jessica parker tests positive for covid. her diagnosis comes just days after her husband matthew broderick tested positive as well. they're now starring in a play on broadway. for now, all shows are canceled. this comes at a time when covid cases are heading higher in new york city.

- through the darkness, artists create light. they illuminate a path to health and well-being for all of us. and now, their light is shining on our stage, the blue shield of california theater at ybca, where artists and audiences create community together. - come join us inside.

opening day is just hours away at oracle park. cierra johnson is live. it sounds lying fans should bring their appetite. >> reporter: they should. they are making their way inside the park. folks are starting to trickle in and i hope they did bring their appetite. the executive chefs say they acknowledge san francisco is a very sophisticated town. with that, the fans have sophisticated palates. there are fish tacos and a ton of vegetarian options as well as

the impossible meat options. the folks here are really excited about the new men you've options. something for everyone. there's also a bacon cheese burger rolled in a crispy wrapper. i can tell you, i've been here since 5:00 and i'm getting a little hungry. the focus is keeping the lines moving and the transactions quick. there are a lot of folks to feed so there's a new sales system to make sure everything happens quickly and inventory isn't stopped. >> it is giving us access to data that we've never had and to make better decisions to ensure your favorite foods are not out of stock. >> aid chance to get a sneak peek. we're talking bobble heads, bags. i love the socks for pride. a lot of really cool things happening. and opening day, first pitch, it

will be a great game. we're live, cierra johnson. nbc bay area news. >> there's nothing worse than hearing the crowd roar while you're waiting for your, we'll call it a soda. thank you so much. i don't drink soda at the ballpark. you want something cold. >> you want something that will keep you hydrated. the temperatures, it is still going to be very warm today reaching into the 80s. we have some mid 70s for saturday. sunday it is cooling down and really cool. even a little drink for our lawns on monday. some scattered showers and hopefully we can keep the trend going for the end of next week. >> i know i was complaining about covering the furniture but you reminded me, water your garden. >> i'll take the free water. thank you for joining us. our next newscast is coming up at 5:00. and don't forget, you can watch the giants game on nbc sports bay area. have a great day.

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right now on "california live" -- >> i'm here for the kickoff of the ten-day film festival featuring some of the story tellers. most of them queer and. >> translator: people of really good to have a >> plus, johannesburg come to l.a. i take you inside the international art collective for airportists by artists. this is breath taking! >> and the politics of