breaking news at 5:30, two story homeless encampment goes up in flames and san jose. crews had to truck in water because there are no hydrants nearby. they got the fire pretty much not down but it is not quite out yet. some traffic leaned in that area are shut down so drivers are being asked to avoid the area.>> right now on kpix 5 and streaming on cbsn bay area, more local news at 5:30 . the bay area city set to raise its minimum wage for the second time during the pandemic. can small businesses handle it? the crackdown in one alameda county school district. the outbreak that may be linked to high school parties. some new details on a massive scam hitting the states on appointment system. fraudsters have funneled much more money away from out of work californians than anyone

previously thought. >> state investigators have uncovered more than $400 million in payments on 21,000 claims filed on behalf of california jail and prison inmates including dozens on death row. that's nearly 3 times the $140 million estimate put forth by prosecutors last week. they started putting in additional requirements after the first cases were exposed in the san mateo county jail in august. a new task force began work this week to coordinate a statewide investigation. meanwhile hundreds of thousands of legit claims are still in limbo. kpix 5 first exposed out massive fraud problem involving the use of unemployment debit cards issued by bank of america. >> since then dozens of vier have contacted us.>> reporter: as of tonight kpix 5 has received calls and emails from

her than 60 people that say that they are edd debit cards were hacked and lost thousands of dollars. tonight we are learning that the state may be doing a runaround federal law by pushing people to use the cards in the first place. >> i sort of shouted out oh my god, almost all of my unemployment has been basically hacked. >> that would show the reaction of brooke a few months ago when she checked her edd card balance. two charges, one for 1500 at neiman marcus and one for 1200 at intermix had wiped out her account. she was on hold for hours for two days straight before she was finally able to file a claim. and she is still fighting to get all her money back. >> it feels like bank of america is not taking this seriously and we are being treated like second-class citizens. >> brooke reached out to us after seeing previous reports of others being caught in the same predicament. after that we received even

more emails with people desperately crying out for help. >> how many of you have lost money to fraudsters? >> my mother actually lost $4806. >> $5998. >> everyone in this group lost their jobs because of the pandemic and depends on employment benefits to survive. >> i'm a single mother with a son. >> i'm a widow and have three kids. >> they say bank of america to help is almost impossible. >> was on hold for two or three hours, they put me on hold and then hang up. >> i went into try to get help in person and they didn't want to touch it. they say don't talk to us, call the number on the wall. >> they say once you do get through. >> they basically try to make you feel guilty saying no, this is a valid withdrawal. >> even though they believe all

the transactions had obvious red flags. >> it happened at two atms miles away from you in the middle of the night. >> said had and they make two transactions in san diego and arizona within minutes of each other. >> despite the evidence the victim say the bank did nothing for them. >> i sent them my police report and receipts i had from the same day. >> money was taken out from atm machines, and they have cameras on those machines, right? >> instead they said they got letters like this one saying the above claim has been closed. >> the letter was dated on the 20th, i didn't make the claim until the 19th. nothing was investigated. >> the letter goes on to say that you may request to reopen your claim. >> i actually called this morning at 7 am.

but what use is that if we can even check the status of that claim. >> i know i'm not exempt from fraud. i know it's is the time where people get more desperate. when you have an institution as large as bank of america and they are refusing to do anything about it, and the state is aware of it, too, i don't think that is fair. >> bank of america turn down a request for an interview, they won't say how many customers were affected, how much was stolen and when, if ever, victims will get their money back. >> they need to do a real investigation and they can't just deny claims that they know are probably fraudulent. >> the real problem is forcing people to use a debit card that as we have reported, does not have a security check. the california unemployment development department may be doing a runaround by offering paper checks as an option but not allowing direct deposit. >> what california does is force people into these cards.

we are under the law you have the right to choose how you received your unemployment benefits.>> their exclusive contract with tank of america may have something to do with it. it's a revenue sharing agreement where the edd gives the bank the taxpayer funds and the bank in turn pays the clients. so it is profit for both bank of america and edd. >> that is part of the reason california is pushing people into using the cards rather than direct deposit. >> i don't even understand why they have this long-standing contract with edd. >> don't give up, there is protection under that visa logo that bank of america puts on the prepaid card. i will get my money back, i won't stop. >> edd told us that if fred is happening on the card it's up to bank of america to resolve it and pay the victims back. when we asked b of a about that

there was no comment.>> kpix 5 has been summoning the names of victims that have been contacting us come into the bank of america. so far 13 of you got your money back. if you're edd debit card has been hacked, send us an email and we will submit your name as well. three high schools in the east bay are pausing in person camps after a potential coronavirus exposure. an official with pleasanton unified says students from amador, village and foothill gathered for parties over the since iving break. tested positive. officials are trying to track down anyone else who might have been exposed. in person groups and camps music and sports are now paused through the end of the semester. data san francisco, a live look at the salesforce tower. the company is buying chatting

service slack in a nearly $20 billion deal. the acquisition is by far the largest in the 21 year history of salesforce. slack has transformed from a fast rising startup into a major competitor of microsoft with more than 12 million daily active users. the first round of coronavirus vaccines could be just weeks away in california. but then what? we break and how the state plans to store and safely deliver it to people. coming up new 6, post- thanksgiving testing brush, a bay area county working overtime to keep up with demand. the new testing options, now available. the san jose mayor has admitted to and now apologized for violating health rules by attending a thanksgiving family dinner with too many people. >> it was a bit of a bad

if the fda approves the new pfizer vaccine, california could be receiving 327,000 doses in less than two weeks from today.>> uc davis health in sacramento was one of six california hospitals that will distribute the vaccine. and storage is critical.

>> i've never st since this whole thing started. >> emmanuel garcia is the father of two working as a tv technician to provide for his family. he says that covid-19's vaccine coming to the state in a matter of weeks gives him a little piece of mine in a glimmer of hope. governor gavin newsom announcing plans to get over 300,000 doses by mid december. the first batch going to healthcare workers. soho was next in line? cbs 13 is getting answers. the california department of health releasing a draft distribution plan. so far vaccines will be distributed in phases, phase 1 a includes healthcare workers treating covid patients and workers likely exposed to the virus. phase 1b will focus on those who are more vulnerable to death. then any other critical

publics. the public health officer for sacramento county says preparations are already in place to vaccinate the first group of healthcare workers.>> we will be working mainly with the hospitals.>> the governor is expected to release more details about distribution plans later this week. coming up, an oscar-nominated star introduces their new

the juno star ellen page is noelia page. she has come out as non-binary and transgender. page shared the news on social media saying he feels lucky to finally be at a place where he loves it who he is and he's thankful for the support he's got to get there. >> i think it is very validating for others who are, you know, look to someone like that. it helps with younger generations who are particularly struggling with their own identity. >> page also used the post to support other transgender people who have suffered from harassment and abuse.>> good for him. we've been very lucky to live in the bay area because it's been absolutely beautiful these last couple of days with a little christmas in the morning and definitely cooling off at night, it's been

perfect. >> temperatures warm up nicely in the afternoon, especially very nice compared to what other parts of the country have to deal with in december. but we certainly can use some rain. everything is getting pushed to the north in terms of storm chances. it's even further north than vancouver. and the most we can hope for over the next couple of days is some passing clouds. in terms of where we stand in the rainy season, we are now two months technically into the rainy season and we are way behind. we are just 5% of average for san jose. the best we can do is 21% around santa rosa. we just got the new update from the prediction center, the outlook for the entire month of december, and it's pretty much the same, a significant chance of below average precipitation, not just for the bay area or california but most of the western half of the country to go along with the below average

precipitation is below average temperatures that are likely. it doesn't mean we will see zero rain but it does mean a significant chance that we run below average. and as i mentioned, this has already been the third driest year on record. temperatures were above average again today, otherwise 60 in concord and 63 in san francisco. a few degrees above normal for december. temperatures right now have mostly retreated into the 50s. 50 on the nose in petaluma, still holding onto 61 in oakland. and once we get that 6:00 update they will most likely join everybody else. the rain clouds will be way up in the atmosphere so they will not be very efficient in holding anything of worth to bring down to the ground. another day of above average

temperatures on the way for wednesday. running 3 to 7 degrees above average, everybody back in the low to mid 60s. not a whole lot of variation. right around 60 degrees along the coast for half moon bay and pacifica. mostly low 60s for the south bay and low 60s for the santa clara valley. warm spots like morgan hill reaching the upper 60s. but most inland east bay locations getting up to the mid- 60s while normals are the upper 50s. so that's where you will be farthest away from what is typical for this time of the year. mostly mid 60s for the north bay and our neighbors to the north and mendocino and lake and is also reaching the upper 60s. temperatures don't change much as we head into the first weekend of december. a few passing clouds tomorrow and thursday but no rain. temperatures will stay in the mid to upper 60s inland, with upper 50s to around 60 around the coast.

the next hint of rainfall, in the long range data, we are talking about maybe 10 days from now where we will have the next hint of moisture possibly headed our way. we will keep you posted on that. but now we are in the month of december and here on kpix 5 we are showcasing bay area right spots. let's check out the nightmare before christmas. we will go to some video here. i'm waiting for my fee to refresh. this is the night more before christmas in concord, song synced up to lights and special effects. it is the nightly show from 5:32 10:00 all the way through the end of the month. a local favorite since 2001. this is now the 20th year they are doing this in concord. if you want to get in on the action be sure to share your holiday lights with us. you can send us an email or you can take us on social media

with the # kpix bright spots. >> sounds good. speaking of giving we can help our own neighbors this holiday season. >> the food for family food drive is on. and how some families are stepping up to fill the growing need.>> reporter: we here at the food bank in contra costa say people are showing up saying they have to choose between paying rent or buying food. i want to bring in a couple of the fine folks from phillips 66. and you knew pretty early on that they would really need your help this year. >> when covid happened it was just evident that a lot of people would be displaced from either work, and i also thought about last year how the wildfires affected the community with impacting those who were displaced from their homes. i remember talking to the food bank about how important it was for them to be able to provide

food for those who lost so much. so then we just made it a point to allocate some money to give for supporting covid. then later on, realizing the possibility that there will be greater need. so we were really fortunate that we were able to go ahead and set aside the money to where we are able to make a contribution this year of $99,000. >> wow, that's a big amount. and john i would imagine that would make a huge impact this year. >> it absolutely does. love 66 has been a long term supporter. a lot of folks we are serving right now are facing some tremendous hardship, sometimes the choice of whether to pay for food for themselves or for their children to eat. so support organizations really make a difference in the lives of those who really need it the most right now.>> think you to all of you for that big donation. that is really needed. you can help out as well.

you can find out ways to give by going to kpix.com/give or you can donate at any of your local food stores. knew it 6:00, the rush to get tested after the holiday weekend. how one bay area county is trying to keep up. plus, strong reactions from the public after another bay area politician is god breaking his own pandemic roles. and elementary school is getting a donation of books from a surprising source. i will have that story coming up. still ahead, a bay area city boosting paychecks for the second time, but can businesses handle another

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only nature's bounty does. new immune twenty-four hour plus has longer lasting vitamin c. plus, herbal and other immune superstars. only from nature's bounty. the city of novato approved a series of minimum wage hikes two years ago.

>> now, despite the economic disaster brought on by the pandemic, businesses will still have to pay more beginning january 1. john ramose has reactions.>> reporter: there's no doubt that workers can use some extra money to help make ends meet, the question is, is this a time for businesses to be paying for raises. the wage hike will be one dollar with small businesses paying $14 per hour larger ones 15. >> marin county is probably one of them more expensive counties to live in. and it's important for people to be able to work only one job instead of multiple jobs to pay rent. >> it will actually be the third increase since january of this year. jeff copeland calls a carwash in detail center that employs 60 people. >> that means these 31 dollar an hour increases cost our business about $1500 a day more than it would have the year before. >> he says the wage hikes are

coming so thickly that it's not possible to pass on the cost to consumers. and with the public shutdowns, businesses are starting to fail. last week i deli across the street shutdown, a chilies closed and the men's warehouse is out of business. but some don't mind the increase. and say that businesses have to have a realistic business model. >> when it all comes down to, how you are making money, and is your business model sustainable. >> he admits he only has one part-time employee. back at the carwash jeff copeland says he's worked hard to do right by his workers and has not laid anyone off. but the wage hike will likely cause a cutback on ours which means less money in their pockets anyway. he says this just is not the time for officials to be generous with someone else's money. >> when you have a city like novato that is ratcheting up the cost of doing business in

the middle of pandemic on the heels of two months of wire files, you can appreciate the disconnect between reality and that dreamland they are in. now at 6, had two bay area mayors are attending gatherings they were warning us to avoid.

will see hospital bed shortage around christmas.>> in santa clara county 46 patients arrived at the hospital in the county has reported nearly 400 new cases today alone for a total of more than 35,000. san francisco's mayor and the san jose mayor are being forced to explain going to the sort of social gatherings they've been telling the rest of us not to do. the day before thanksgiving liccardo tweeted "let's cancel the big gatherings this year and focus on keeping each other safe." but the mayor is now having to eat those words after his own thanksgiving get-together.>>