elizabeth wenger is at sfo where the president arrives on air force one in a few hours. she joins us now live. good morning. >> reporter: that's right. good morning, frank. good morning, sydnie. that's right. he's scheduled to arrive around 1:00. this is the second visit to the bay area if you are counting in the last three months. you know, the last time he was here, he held a very exclusive dinner with those silicon valley billionaires down in woodside. well, this time he is doing some of that, too, we understand but he is also doing things a little differently. he's taking his message out to the public. i know we have some video of facebook. that's right, he is going to facebook this time. he is going to be holding a town hall style meeting all broadcast live over the internet over facebook from their palo alto headquarters. mark zuckerberg will be the moderator of the public webcast and the questions are preselected from facebook users and we just checked this morning and so far 31,000 people, more than 31,000, have already rsvp'ed. so the president will talk about t

elizabeth wenger is on treasure island with more on today's big lift. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. yeah, i got a pretty good view today. we got the sun coming up now, the seagulls flying overhead and a cool shot here of the tower going up on the bay bridge. it is growing 15 feet to 495 feet of its eventual total 525- foot-tall tower. i understand we have chopper 5 flying over the bay bridge right now where you can see this reconstruction project going up. if you have driven across the bay bridge recently, you know this project is really turning into something. you can really see it now as you drive especially on the lower deck towards oakland. let's go to some computer animation now. caltrans is providing this on their website. so you can check it out as well to satisfy that inner engineering geek that you may have in you. this is going to be a little different from the previous four tower lifts. what's going on today, this latest lift going on this morning is a single segment and it will sit atop four independent legs. so this se

. >> you may be wondering where elizabeth wenger is. she is not doing traffic here. she's on treasure island to explain what's happening to the tower. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. yeah, the tower is growing by about 15 feet later on this morning. it's going to grow to 495 feet of its total 525-foot height. caltrans provided us this computer animated video. you can find it on their website if you want to check it out. kind of cool stuff. unlike the previous four tower lifts which were comprised of four individual sections, this latest lift is just a single segment that will sit atop all four independent legs. the section known as the grillage will evenly distribute the weight of the 480-ton cable saddle so the section if you're wondering why it's nicknamed the grillage it's due to the position of internal steel plates think create the appearance of a grill great, makes sense, right? well, the latest tower section arrived in the bay area back in february and when completed, this will be the signature element that we have all been hearing about of the

elizabeth wenger is in north beach, where arson investigators have just left the scene. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. they just re-opened the streets a short time ago. fire crews and arson investigators both left about a half hour ago. it's difficult to tell where this fire was. it was in an alleyway just off powell. the address is powell but it's difficult to see from the actual roadway. again, this fire caused some pretty major damage to the building. the fire started around 12:40 this morning. it was on the 1500 block of powell. that is between vallejo and green streets. so for a while they had about a block taped off. at one point the fire got to two alarms. and san francisco fire department tells us the building is still completely uninhabitable. the fire was out in about 15 minutes but not before causing bad damage to the building. you're looking at this video of fire crews as they were trying to get it under control. this is a three-story residential building where i understand that three people inside were taken to saint frances memorial hos

elizabeth wenger on treasure island with more on the tower lift. elizabeth, good morning. >>> reporter: good morning. if you have driven across the bay bridge recently, you have seen the towe going up. it's going to 495 feet of its total 525 feet this morning. let's go to computer animation video provided to us from caltrains. it's on their website if you want to check it out of what this project is all about. this is a little different from the previous four tower lifts which were comprised of four individual sections. this latest lift is just a single segment and will sit atop four legs. this section is known as grillage. it will hold a mile-long single cable over the tower. it's nicknamed the grillage of internal steel that gives the appearance of grill grates. the latest tower section arrived in february. when completed the tower will be the signature element of the new eastern span. crews will hoist the grillage 500 feet into the air so amazing stuff and amazingly even more caltrans hopes to have it all done in just one day. so this is all sup

elizabeth wenger is on treasure island to show us the work. elizabeth. >> reporter: hey, good afternoon, sydnie. that's right. that work is going on right behind me. i have been standing here for the last couple of hours watching it going up. you can see where it's going up right now. it looks like it's about halfway up, the new section of tower that's going into place. and they tell me by the end of today we should have a much better feel for what this tower will finally look like. >>> reporter: this is not a job for those afraid of heights. commuters are taking notice. >> i'm like, how it's going to work and how long is it going to take? i'm very excited by it. >> reporter: crews slowly raised the new bay bridge suspension tower another 15 feet bringing the tower to almost 500 feet and close to its final height. >> i was wondering how tall it's going to get because, you know, you look at it and it looks like they are going to keep adding to it but you never really know. >> it's going to change the skyline for sure. so i'm curious to see how

elizabeth wenger reports from the campus with what police are doing to stop this disturbing trend. >> reporter: we spoke to campus police earlier today and they say there have been you six peeping tom incidents since last december all but one in the dorm. one happened on a campus library. as you said, the two most recent incidents happened just last week. both involving women in showers. one of those incidents the woman was showering in the residence -- in the restroom of one of the residents of unit one. she said a man was peeking over the partition, but when she screamed the peeper fled. the suspect is described as having black spikey hair. less than an hour later another woman was showering in a different campus dorm when her floormate spotted someone peering over the partition. police arrested a 17-year-old man in that case not affiliated with the university. a lieutenant with the berkeley police department says the number of incidents is concerning. >> students should be cautious and report it to police. >> consist concerning. i personally haven't had any problems. i'm close to p

elizabeth wenger at sfo. >>> let's take a peek at the traffic and weather. we have tickets to the as-red sox game at 12:30. >> who are you rooting for? >> you know, it's going to be tough. my wife will have a boston red sox cap on but i grew up an as fan but, of course, covered the sox for 20 years so i'll be rooting for both. how's that sound? >> good. >> i'll be getting wet. >> and possibly be getting wet, too. it looks like we are seeing some scattered showers around the bay area right now. most of that ligh stuff. you see that cell moving onshore and we have pockets of yellow in there moderate amounts of rainfall sweeping through bodega bay. this will migrate onshore so santa rosa watch out you might have rain in the next few minutes and same with petaluma. looks like we'll see scattered showers on and off today and probably going to pick up especially in the latter part of the day. temperatures not all that bad. we're talking 50s coastside and 50s and 60s inside the bay and maybe upper 60s in toward the interior valleys. all right. let's get a traffic c

elizabeth wenger on why some are wondering if the university of california system is a sound choice. >> reporter: blue and gold pride shined on the uc berkeley campus for cal day. an event for prospective students and their parents. a change of pace from the usual grim news about cutbacks and fee hikes. >> we don't want to pay more but we will do what we have to do to get our kids in the college. >> reporter: mary in walnut creek has five kids to put through college. the tuition talk is big news around the dinner table. >> we save our pennies to send our kids to college. >> reporter: the cost of a uc education continues to go up. the governor recently warned an all cuts approach to the state's budget crisis could lead to a doubling of tuition to as much as 25,000 per year. and cal is megan's first choice but tuition hikes may mean she will have to go somewhere else. >> i'm kind of sad about it. i mean i really want to go here. but it all depends on the costs, i guess. >> reporter: protests are nothing new to this campus. but students say the proposed cuts have made life on campus mor

elizabeth wenger reports. >> reporter: this is part policy and part cash. we are waiting for air force one and president obama to arrive within the next hour. weigh took some video earlier this morning -- we took some video earlier this morning from the east coast as president barack obama left andrews air force base air force base arriving around 1 p.m. then he is going to palo alto. he is holding a town hall meeting broadcast live on facebook. the facebook ceo zuckerberg is the moderator. the president will be talking about bringing down the deficit and his tax plan. this morning we spoke to a cnet editor who said this kind of public webcast is an experiment for facebook. >>> i think it is a nod to facebook's success. i think it is -- he is talking about innovation and wanting to invest in innovation while at the same time cut spending and tighten the belt a little bit to help put down the deficit. >> reporter: all right. let's break down what will happen during the visit. after mr. obama's facebook stop it's all about the fundraising. there is a 2012 ele

elizabeth wenger has more on how passengers are taking a test ride without even getting on a train. >> reporter: people in the bay area are used to the familiar look of bart trains. but to grow into the future, bart says it is time for a makeover. >> this is a lot more space. you would probably get three people here. >> reporter: bart spokesman lyndon johnson showed us around the new seat lab. >> go sit down. sit down. >> okay. >> this is comfy. >> this is comfy still. >> the transit agency is replacing the current train cars and wants rider feedback on future seat design to accommodate the anticipated jump in ridership. >> if we are here in this seat, pretty high up. you can't please everybody. >> the lab focuses on seat height and width and leg room. the most talked-about topic, what the seat should be made of. >> actually, if they would maybe make plastic seats or something that is not cloth. and that can be cleaned more often. >> i think cleaner seats. the fabric is not very appealing. >> the lab begins today with groups of senior and disabled passengers. and then the lab hits the

elizabeth wenger has what prospective students and their parents have to say. >> reporter: blue and gold pride shined on the uc berkeley campus for cal day. an event for prospective students and their parents. a change of pace from the usual grim news about cut-backs. and fee hikes. >> go bears! >> we don't want to pay more but we will do what we have to do to get our kids in the college. >> reporter: mary in walnut creek has five kids to put through college. the tuition talk is big news around the dinner table. >> we save our pennies to send our kids to college. >> reporter: the cost of a uc education continues to go up. the governor recently warned an all cuts approach to the state's budget crisis could lead to a doubling of tuition to as much as 25,000 per year. and cal is megan's first choice but tuition hikes may mean she will have to go somewhere else. >> i'm kind of sad about it. i mean i really want to go here. but it all depends on the costs, i guess. >> reporter: protests are nothing new to this campus. but students say the proposed cuts have made life on campus more difficult.

elizabeth wenger is at sfo where the president will be arriving early this afternoon. elizabeth, you have a front row seat. >> reporter: i have a front row seat. we do. we get to go right out on the tarmac. we are told he is scheduled to arrive around 1:00 this afternoon. so we'll be here all morning. the last time he was here -- this is his second visit in three months. the last time he was here he only met with the silicon valley billionaires, very exclusive dinner over in woodside. this time he is doing some of that too but he is also doing things a little differently. he is going to be taking his message out to you the public and doing it over facebook. we have some video of this. he is going to be holding a town hall style meeting broadcast live on facebook from their palo alto headquarters. facebook ceo mark zuckerberg will be the moderator of the public webcast and the questions are preselected from facebook users, from you. so far 31,000 people have already rsvp'ed. the president will be talking about the economy, the deficit and tax plan. of course, there is t

i am elizabeth wenger. sydnie has the morning off. >>> i am frank mallicoat. people are gathering in san francisco, marking the moment 105 years ago when a earthquake hit the city 105 years afoe. kit. >> reporter: couple hundred people they were joking before facebook, twitter and internet this was the place to be in san francisco at the time. here at 5:00 a.m. this morning, april 18 this is the place to be the guest of honor just showed up one of three remaining survivors from the 1906 quake. they have a pretty good turn out, there are some people in period costume dress out here as well they have a long sort of list of events happening 5:11 a.m. they will hit one of the sirens and then have a minute of silence then members from san francisco conservatory brass ensemble will be playing san francisco. we have some historical footage from the quake in 1906. japan actually helped out san francisco more than any other country in 1906 contributing $200,000 to help rebuild that is why today 's event is being dedicated to survivors of japan. here, people have collec

i'm elizabeth wenger. sydnie has the morning off. >> hi, everybody. i'm frank mallicoat. it is 5:00 straight up. and we are going to kick it off with a little bit of weather on this good friday. and i got news for you. it's not all that good. >> we have a weak system off the coast. so becoming mostly cloudy in the afternoon. we may have showers over the weekend but first let's check traffic. >> construction on area bridges especially the dumbarton bridge. eastbound they are hoping to have it wrapped up shortly. here's a live look so give yourself some extra time. there are lanes blocked in variouss areas. >>> yesterday, a driver caught texting behind the wheel was caught again driving. anne makovec reports from san francisco. >> reporter: good morning. imagine that passenger's surprise when he saw the driver that he had busted back behind the wheel of the bus that he was riding, back behind the wheel after muni said they were going to fire this woman for driving and texting. the man who blew the whistle on the textin

elizabeth wenger is standing by in san francisco's north beach and tells us some people were hurt trying to escape those flames. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. three people were sent to the hospital. we are here on powell street. the fire broke out on powell street between vallejo and green. one fire investigator just arrived back on scene but all the fire engines have left quite a while ago. the street are re-opened in this north beach neighborhood. the fire as you mentioned happened overnight. it broke out around 12:40 this morning. it was on the 1500 block of powell. the fire was out 15 minutes later but not before causing some major damage. the building is completely uninhabitable according to the san francisco fire department. you're looking at this video of fire crews as they were trying to get it under control. this is a three-story residential building. three people inside were taken to saint francis memorial hospital. we spoke with the fire chief early this morning and he said one of the residents cut a foot trying to get out, escaped the flames. and two oth

. >> and i'm elizabeth wenger. sydnie has the day off. >>> sky high gas price maybe even $6 a gallon by summer. is the pain at the pump criminal? that's what the feds want to find out. anne makovec joins us from san francisco where the gas is pretty pricey, anne. >> reporter: it is the highest in the nation over here, frank. you can see the sign here at fisherman's wharf, $4.43 for a gallon of regular unleaded and drivers are feeling the pinch. the prices at the pump keep going up and we keep paying. >> i just bite the bullet. >> reporter: now a federal task force is looking into the reasons for the spikes including possible fraud or manipulation. >> we're going to make sure that nobody is taking advantage of american consumers for their own short-term gains. >> reporter: obama's decree has been called a show of politics. but consumers have long suspected foul play. >> there are a lot of people taking advantage of us right now. >> i don't think the oil companies are doing it. it's more option traders and stuff like

i am elizabeth wenger sid fee has the morning off. >> -- sydnie has the morning off. >> i am frank mallicoat. sydnie has the morning off, you slid over a chair. we are going to look at weather. >>> rain in the forecast, pretty light we are seeing some drizzly conditions, set to pick up for your commute taking a look at your satellite, starting to see sprinkles. you can see that cold front moving through i area of green indicating showers we are seeing. hold on to the umbrellas this afternoon, you will need them. temperatures as you go out the door, mild, 50s. 52 san raphael, 53 vallejo, oakland, 55 concord, 57 san jose. we will not creep up a lot from where we are sitting. highs, 58 for san raphael. 63 napa. 64 fairfield, 62 oakland. one 65-degree reading san jose but a cool afternoon. notably cooler than yesterday. your extended forecast, showers throughout the afternoon today, dreing out tomorrow mostly -- drying out tomorrow mostly sunny skies, them another system make its way into the forecast. by this weekend we will see a nice warm up, creeping up high 60s. low 70s in some inland spots

i'm elizabeth wenger. sydnie has the morning off. >> it's good friday. hi, everybody. i'm frank mallicoat. it is 4:30. we have the crew all upstairs now. >> i'm thinking it's an exceptional friday today. >> you need to get a handshake because the weather is fabulous. >> that was nice yesterday. >> male bonding. >> i knew there was something going on. >> give each other hugs. >> it turned out to be nice around the bay area. a little cool in spots. >> cold. >> but we started out with rain yesterday, of course. today we are looking at a lot of clouds making their way in toward the coastline. you have some patchy fog out there now but we have another weak system off the coast so we are going to call it mostly cloudy especially the latter part of the day so maybe nobody will be shaking my hand after this one. chance of light showers mainly to the north. gianna has traffic. >> you can shake my hand. i have nothing but good news for the freeways right now. no fog, no nothing, no accidents, all good conditions. we have some construction on 101. i'll have details coming right u

i'm elizabeth wenger in today for anne makovec. >> thanks for coming in. >> sure. barely. [ laughter ] >> had a little iphone alarm issues this morning but we're all good now. >> we're all good. weather is great, dry for the weekend, mostly sunny skies, still a chance of some light showers out there but that will be creeping into the picture more than likely by late tomorrow night into monday morning just in time for your commute for. in the meantime the weekend is looking like this lots of blue skies, temperatures up a few degrees for today. and warmer yet for tomorrow. so looks like a lovely weekend taking shape. we'll cover the details on that for you coming up in your complete forecast here in just a few minutes. >> gosh, it's gorgeous. thank you, jim. >>> at the top of the news this morning, an indiana man is mourning the loss of his wife after the couple's rental car was struck by a caltrain express train. the collision happened yesterday around 5 p.m. at the charleston avenue crossing in palo alto. the northbound express train was traveling at speeds topping

. >> in berkeley, elizabeth wenger, cbs 5. >>> much more to come next hour of this weekend early edition. >> that's right oscar winning actor nicklas cage in trouble with the law what lead to his arrest and charges he is facing. >>> and a special day set aside for those who like their music the old fashioned way. remember these? vinyls may not disappear any time soon ,,,, ,,,,,,,,,, i am a sneeze whisperer. i am an allergy analyst. bermuda grass. ragweed. willow. i am a dander decoder. chihuahua. i am a target pharmacist. ask me about allergy relief. rash of violent tornadoes. >>> more than two dozen people are dead as several states deal with a rash of violent tornadoes. >> this week could be the big show down over medical marijuana in san jose. there is a chance all of the cities pot clubs will have to close. >>> one of america's most popular actors is in hot water, a strange series of events that leads to the arrest of nicklas cage. >>> welcome back to weekend early edition the time is 8:01 a.m., i am phil matier. >> i am grace lee in for ann makovec who is on vacation. >>> we will ha

. >>> good monday morning, it is april 18th, i am elizabeth wenger sydnie has the morning off. >> it is monday hi everybody, i am frank mallicoat. we begin this morning as people in san francisco are up nice and early marking the anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire. >> and kit is downtown san francisco. good morning kit what is the latest from there. >> reporter: well, good morning. it was quite a scene this morning as 2 to 300 people showed up at the fountain back in the day this was the gathering point for san francisco and was again at 5:11 a.m. when a lot of sirens were heard, had a moment of silence and laid a wreath to commemorate the 106th anniversary of the -- 105th an verse roy did have the 1906 earthquake -- anniversary of the 1906 earthquake in japan. one of the three remaining survivors from 1906 showed up here along with mayor ed lee and a couple other vips as well. 5:40 a.m. everyone headed over to the loan fountain that survived, it was working this one allowed firefighters to save a lot of the buildings in the mission district and then now everyone is basicall

passenger took cell ph >>> good morning i am elizabeth wenger. a san francisco muni driver caught texting behind the wheel may lose his job. a passenger took pictures of the driver texting and gave it to muni. some how the same driver just operated a bus yesterday. >>> in san bruno, people are being warned to lock up windows and doors. two homes were burglarized west of el camino real. >>> crisis averted, threatening to cut schedules and close stations. >>> traffic and your weather forecast coming up ,,,,,,,, the fresh-tasting california sour cream your other food loves. >>> good morning things have been quiet this morning we are accident free. 101, no delays, if you work your way on south, everything moving along nicely in that area. we had early morning trouble spots everything is cleared 15 minute ride westbound 580, altamonte pass to 680, bay bridge has been clear all morning, nice ride into san francisco and golden gate not a lot of cars on the roadway either have a great weekend here is lauren. >>> lots of clouds out there, we will see more

today, san francis >>> time for news headlines from cbs 5 i am elizabeth wenger. san francisco marking the anniversary of the 1906 earthquake. this morning people repainted a fire hydrant that helped protect the mission district and sirens went off at the exact time the quake hit 105 years abow. >>> free street park -- ago. >> free street parking would end in walnut creek on sundays, enforcement hours might be extended the goal get drivers to park if garages to free up space on the street. >>> walls are coming down mofette field's hanger one. the navy is removing the pcb laced panels so nasa can eventually restore the landmark. traffic and weather in just a moment but, like my sisters... [ sighs ] ...i can't describe them. we need dairies because they produce milk and butter and all of that stuff we use daily. when my dad gets older, run his dairy. i wanted to do that! [ chuckles ] [ female announcer ] meet the families behind real california dairy at realcaliforniamilk.com. >>> good morning delays continue 580, no accidents just lots of slow and go conditions. ba