we represent over 100 union building contractors in northern california. several of which are located here within san francisco and many of which are performing work here in san francisco. what i would like to talk about are just the immediate construction jobs that are badly needed that could be brought on as soon as this project and as forward. the day that this project starts, there will be union laborers on the ground taking down the old building. there is no question about how much the union building construction markers have suffered over the last few years with the economic downturn. these jobs are so important, not just to these people, but to our economy, locally to rebuilding our health care infrastructure and also a mission district resident, and i know how important is that we continue to upgrade our health care infrastructure and build this new seismically safe hospital in a neighborhood that is really in need. i am representing a contractor who has been selected for this project to has done -- more time and resources to workforce development

consolidation has resulted in higher hospital prices in northern california in particular. in california, there is an average increase of 10.6% between 1999 and 2005, double the national rate. the article we mentioned compared hospital costs between northern and southern california and found we pay $7,349 per patient on average compared with los angeles county where it was $4,389 and san bernadine know where it was $4,393. according to the article, much of the reason for higher cost allies was sutter which has groups throughout the northern california region. we can see the strategy at play in several other areas. they have proposed the same kind of game plan that they are proposing now to consolidate with a provider in a low-income area and they have done this with a public entity created to operate a hospital for the benefit of citizens living in and around castro valley. the hospital district purchased a hospital in 2004 using public funds owned by the district and those who question the arrangement were sure it was negotiated for the express purpose of ensuring funding

>> they are predominantly in northern california. their 30% higher than other hospital chains. calpers has data because they are a public entity, it shows their prices are higher than other hospitals. but there is a real this advantage, as long as prices go up, hospitals come in and out shout a price below them. you can still be competitive as long as you are just a little bit below them until you don't exist. >> is that helpful? in closing, how would we and force this cap? cpmc agreed to having an independent actuary validate if we had the same people and same claims year over year, they would look at the numbers and the cost and they would not increase their cost over 5% for the first three years. if they violate that provision, they are required to refund that amount to the city of any amount that was impermissibly charged. questions? supervisor chiu: i have a number of questions. from your perspective, do you think what is proposed in this agreement meets the city's objective is to keep costs down? >> i think it is a modest beginning. i think having a cat at a time when the

it will start sliding into northern california. yes northern california by tuesday into early wednesday. doesn't have a lot of moisture with it. i don't think we will get any rain out of it. we will get drizzle on the coast and low clouds and sunny. i think tomorrow clear lake will be 73-74 st. helena about 68. today there will already be cool temps. 62 for sausalito. 71 for walnut creek. 73 danville. san leandro at 71 degrees. not much warmer santa clara valley. fremont 67. same for san mateo. 57 daly city. 59 in the city. 57 in menlo park. a very cool blustery pattern. a little rebound thursday and friday. your weekend always have in view we'll keep an eye on that. >> thank you, steve. >>> a few minutes ago the commerce department reported worse than expected retail sales numbers. sales fell by a half percent in june. analysts had expected a decline of between .2 and .4 of a percent. this is the third consecutive month that it has dropped. >>> crude oil prices are slipping again. they foe below -- china's slowing growth coulden t

upper level low continues to spin with coastal areas of oregon and northern california. nothing to talk about today. very weak front trying to push into the northwest. that's about it. the light showers that went through trying to push through salem. maybe a shower or storm around medford but we're not going to see a lot of wet sacramento today. that's a pretty nice day. northwest continues to be the one spot in the country that is dealing with a very cool summer. >> just one.

california problem. the reason we are all here is we have the same goal, we want to improve disability accessibility to public accommodations and protect small business tenants. we have not made any progress. you have know about this issue for the last four years. david chiu ran on this when he was in the small business commission. we have not moved any steps toward trade we have this hearing year after year. -- he was excited and thought they would make some changes but four years later, we're still in the same position and we have not made any progress. we need to recognize there's limits to what the county can do. we have a lot of problems with the way the ada is implemented and the way the unruh act allows

so is speaking on behalf of the structural engineers association of northern california. we are an organization of about 1500 members here in northern california, predominantly practicing structural engineering and related fields. we have a very strong interest in these because it will be our members that will be out there working with the building department and others to implement them after the next earthquake. we also have a very long history of being collaborators with the building department in local amendments to the building code, particularly ones that are seismic safety oriented. that is a collaboration we would very much like to be continuing. we understand at this point that the intent is to adopt these right now and to work over the next year to work on possible refinements to them. in support of this, the structural engineers association has taken a position of the court in principle of the entire project and one particular product coming out of the capss project. we are permitting our committees to provide technical review in the short run and over the next

so is speaking on behalf of the structural engineers association of northern california. we are an organization of about 1500 members here in northern california, predominantly practicing structural engineering and related fields. we have a very strong interest in these because it will be our members that will be out there working with the building department and others to implement them after the next earthquake. we also have a very long history of being collaborators with the building department in local amendments to the building

care of -- kawai and chamber of commerce of northern california, northern california chinese athletic association, national association of american professionals, national federation of independent business, national federation of filipino americans, the filipino chamber of commerce, around of applause for all of our community partners, please. that was a lot. [applause] >> i am so glad he had to do that. our next speaker is u.s. congressmen. he is representing the 15th congressional district of california in the u.s. house of representatives. in congress, he is a member of the powerful house appropriations and budget committee. share of the democratic caucuses, new media working group, house democratic senior went, and the original author of the equity and excellence commission now housed in the u.s. department of education. his district includes silicon valley, the birthplace of technology. mike has dedicated his life to public service and is lauded for his work on education, civil- rights national service, immigration, transportation, the environment, and high-tech issues. >> he is

for the past two years i've worked for the aclu here in northern california in san francisco. our office is down on drug street. now i am not a litigator. my focus is now entirely on policy work and realignment. shortly after i got to the aclu in northern california, governor brown revealed his realignment proposal. we immediately recognized this as an opportunity for significantly changing the way we think about and deal with criminal justice, especially the lowest level offenders. we have one of the highest recidivism rate in the country in california, nearly 70% of the people who go into our criminal justice system and are incarcerated blowback within three years of release. it is clear that simply focusing on incarceration has not worked. it does not make us safer and is costing us too much money. within a couple of weeks, literally after the realignment legislation was enacted last july, we released a report, the aclu did, that analyze the new law and the sentencing discretion that it grants to local sheriffs in terms of food to incarcerate and hutu release. we proposed a

he's expected to speak at three separate campaign events today in northern california. person travels to reno, nevada, to speak and the national convention if of the veterans of foreign wars. that is an official event and not a campaign event. after spending the night in northern california, likely republican nominee mitt romney is headed south for his first public event since friday. he is scheduled to speak at 1:30 eastern time outside los angeles in order county. president a bomb and mitt romney toned down their political attacks on the weekend after the shootings and colorado. -- president obama and mitt romney toned down their political attacks. veterans take the two wheels and they are short ride from completing an amazing speed. a worldwide battle on aids comes to be seen and has a lofty challenge for the secretary of state -- and a lofty challenge from the secretary of state. and was forced by helicopter down to rescue someone. there could be storms. adam caskey has the forecast coming up. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. [romney singing]: oh beautif

lights as far south as northern california. this is video from nasa, the radiation began to hit earth around 6:00 a.m. pacific time. people in northern california, near the oregon border may get to see a rare northern lights show tonight and possibly tomorrow. >>> a oregon mother is getting a lot of attention with a for- sale sign that reads the following: ell zoeber says the sign is nothing more than truth in advertising. so far no sale pending, but zoeber has made a side business selling refrigerator magnets of the house for-sale sign. >>> coming up next, the ar's go on a hit parade and tim lincecum makes a strong effort, but a strange play could put the victory in jeopardy. sportswrap with joes fonzi is coming up next. must be nice, cheering on team usa from the shallow end. back in '08, we didn't have these u-verse wireless receivers that let you move the tv around wherever. no siree, bob. who's bob? and if you didn't have a tv outlet, well then you couldn't watch diddly-squat. you talk a lot. you have no idea how good you

. >>> a quake rattles northern california. just as bay area cities make preparations for the big one. >> alan: an oscar winning acting legend passes away. >> ama: the east coast heat wave takes a toll on air calf. >> leigh: all eyes on downtown oakland as temperatures there cooled off today. in fact the entire bay area, numbers dropped from 15 degrees in some locations. get ready for a big warmup. we'll take a look at the you can see >> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to >> alan: a small quake rattled northern california. the 4.3 quake struck just after 5:00 this morning about three miles northwest of fort bragg. there was no damage from the quake. >> ama: if the big one hits, your family needs to be prepared. that was the message at the san francisco fire department's get really ready day. during the massive '89 craig san francisco emergency response teams were overwhelmed. in such events officials say families need to be prepared to survive on their own. theres basic steps to make it through a disas

he did this and all of use all over northern california and southern oregon because it's less crowded camps antoninus jammed with a nice new cabins their the place to be so quick kings canyon national park. especially kings canyon is one of the great underslung wonders of the west the kings canyon itself is fully spectacular as yosemite valley and doesn't get the use and that the visitation that if somebody does. >>> for people who want to camp out or have family that wants to anyplace that you recommend. >>> abbott say the couple clinton mentioned would be good for that and you somebody isn't that if you get out of the valley. you can usually find camping spots but closer in lots of quick places in the bay area we can't get tough but the cemetery county coast and the big basin and santa cruz is wonderful. so lots of good places one area were featured in our august issue near quincy phenomenal area for camping which is ridiculous and it's less crowded. >>> thanks for joining us it's always fun in the book is a sunset magazine and a belief that copy is the one have a my hand and it's a

they have done this in northern california. they are doing this in san francisco. they will do this at the expense of patients, their employees, their unions, and the community. what really concerns me is we have seen the corporation be very dishonest with us in their negotiations as a union, and now it has come down to that they are doing the same thing with the city of san francisco and the board of supervisors, so i would urge you to reconsider approving anything with the sutter corporation and cpmc until we know they are dealing honestly with the board of supervisors, the city of san francisco, the community, the nurses, the employees. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello, i am a registered nurse and a nurse representative for the nurses at st. francis memorial hospital, and i speak to the concern about cathedral hill, which is just six blocks from st. francis. st. francis is a major provider to the homeless and low-income and is always at risk of closure or sale. my concern is that a new hospital at cathedral hill will result in a loss

conditions could be right for a supervisor in northern california. and we're developing news in oakland tonight police a looking for four children who are missing and may be at risk if a child's eighth three world is hospitalized and life- threatening conditions with suspicious injuries this all started when the boys babysitter reported him unresponsive yesterday at a home on 63rd streets the details of the injuries are not clear but it's the fund's past evidence of abuse the baby sitter at the boy's mother and stepfather have all been arrested. did waves listen now trying to find four other children associate with the couple there between the ages of 4 and 16 employees think they're being held by other family members. anyone with information is asked to call the police. in housing market has been such a struggle for some many people one realtor has been basking in success and has just been named to the top real-estate agent in the country. he sold 106 properties last year average selling price 2.7 million. but one of those properties was a real bloc

and drug policy fellow in northern california. i am here to testify about operations. first i will explain how police strategy impacts san francisco. i will attempt to quantify police practice, and then i will qualify recommendations. an operation involves a team of three police officers and up to 14 police of roasters who organize us being in operation during which a buyer from a drug dealer in the streets. they may offer to buy a small quantity for up to $20. once that takes place, they will arrest the targeted individual. this police practice is supposed to prosecute high level drug dealers that are supposedly a danger to public safety, but a survey revealed that all too often, individuals who are already marginalized in society. first, they are employed in manners the result in drug enforcement in lower economic communities. in june, 65% of those cases were from the tenderloin. nearly 12% were from the hataig. second, targeting an outdoor drug markets common and and and not characterize this african- american market. this furt

. >>> northern california wild fire keeps growing. how much progress firefighters have made on a stubborn fire threatening dozens of homes. >> dozens of -- three people get struck by lightning. >> golden gate bridge a little fog there as you can see southbound 101 traffic looks good heading south. we'll tell you more about the morning commute straight ahead. >>> good morning. much bigger fog bank. maybely 60 -- mainly 60s and 70s. >>> some 2,000 firefighters in placer county are battling that wild fire. the so-called robbers fire has burned 3.5 scare miles-- square miles. the fire has destroyed one home and threatening several dozen others. >>> lightning strikes have killed or injured two dozen people across america on saturday. three people were struck by lightning in harris county texas. two of them have died. the third in stable condition. >> we heard people kind of screaming and then we saw people running so there was a number of people that kind of had been hit by the after shock of it. >> on friday lightning strike in the atlant

. >>> the pentagon is reporting the deaths of two soldiers from northern california. they were killed last week. 23 year-old first lieutenant died from an improvised explosive device. and 25 year-old specialist was killed on friday. opponents of ashdod's regime the united nations does about 2000 people have fled the fighting in up hello. presidential republican kevin dicandidate spoke briefly to soe other veterans and thank them for their service burgeron may also wrapping up a overseas trip after speaking in poland. romney is being criticized for clemency made saying israel is better off then palestine. >>> the direct singh on it, >>> a house boat could happen as soon as tomorrow over sanctions over ironic. a mass of par outage in india today. hundreds of trains were stalled, and workers had to rush generators to workers stuck in coal mines underground. a major bank to get on facebook, the eat financial loss that's sparked a big lawsuit >>> and a plan that will cost people in the bay area if the governor has his way >>> ,,,,,,,,,, happy birthday! thank you, nana send

the largest in northern california history. katie marzullo joins us from san jose with the story. >> reporter: it is called operation chicken hawk. we are at one of 20 homes where search warrants are being served, right now. >> anything to say? >> reporter: we were there as police put the suspect at this location into the van. he and 19 others are accused of being part of a suspected khus ter trading online images, peer to peer of child pornography. the sergeant on scene tells me that creating, possessing and trading child porn are all crimes. police hope this sting will prevent worse crimes. >> our biggest fear is that people that are engaging in this type of behavior online might escalate and start to actually target the children in our community that is unacceptable just the possibility is not acceptable to us. >> reporter: this operation is being carried out by the internet crimes against children task force. the task force is special because it has mobile units that can go to the scene and process computers, hard drives, t

while i am in san francisco, i cover all of northern california. this is really the small business of the year for northern california. every year, we look for great, you need small businesses. all small businesses are unique in their own way. the challenge is to find a business that represents the things small business does for the community in ways everyone talks about the only one small business gets the chance to be recognized and honored this year. if i could get rebecca and john up first, so i can make sure you know who we are recognizing here. for sba, we try to recognize the business that is unique in a couple of ways. we look for a business that is financially successful. at the beginning of the 2000's they were doing $10 million a year. they hope to do $60 million a year this year. around a turn-of-the-century, they had a little over 100 employees. now they have 300 employees. it is now a nationwide coast to coast operation with locations in five places across the country. financially, operations best wide -- operations-wise, and hiring.

long bolts making their way across the northern california sky. as for our temperatures and lightning we will see a good chance of lightning tomorrow evening. the high was 90 and a low of 75. nearly seven inches below average for rainfall. so even though we saw a lot of rain over the weekend we need to make up that deficit. we could make it up a little bit tomorrow but it's i don't think everyone's going to see the storms. the temperature is 82 degrees with winds out of the southwest at 8 miles an hour. the dew point is 68 and the humidity at 62%. you will feel muggy outside tomorrow morning. 73 in culpepper. and 81 on the eastern shore. cambridge at 75 degrees. we are not going to see any chance of rain tonight. we are looking at clearing skies and a nice night except for the muggy conditions. what we have seen most of the day is the cloud cover right across the washington metro area that helped to do a couple of things. it kept us cooler and helped to stop the thunderstorm development today. big thunderstorms in philadelphia and down around rich

also some showers in northern california and oregon. it will be heating up in the plains. >> 90s across the rockies, plains, and southeast. 80s from the twin cities to new york. and 78 in seattle. >>> and coming up next after the break, the snack food competition that could have you eating caviar. how to win a million bucks. >>> and the post office delivering a new batch of bad news. on the brink of a huge default. >>> and later this morning, on "the pulse." hands off the hoff. the thieves who can't get enough of, believe it or not, david hasselhoff. he's going like hotcakes. \s >>> welcome back, everyone. wall street will try to build on its two-day rally. overseas markets are higher following the u.s. lead. investors are encouraged by solid earnings at key companies, including intel and honeywell. as well as strong housing starts. the s&p 500 is up. at its highest level since early may. weekly jobless claims will be out before the opening bell. >>> and the postal service is drowning in red ink could see the first default in its histor

welcome to "this week in northern california." joining me on the panel on kathryn baron, senior reporter with edsource. josh richman, political reporter for bay area news group and lauren sommer. kqed quest source. lauren, is this a new idea? >> this is not a new idea. what the governor proposed was a major water infrastructure project for the sacramento and san juaquin delta. it is not that far off what he proposed. since then, the water battles have been going. the reason for that is the delta is hugely important to the california water supply. water from there goes hundreds of miles in the state. it goes to southern california, it goes to silicon valley, and it goes to central valley farms. what happened in the last ten years is a major ecological crash in the delta. endangered salmon. the biologists point to the water. they are powerful. they reverse the flow of the river. what has happened is there are rules in place to slow the pumping during certain times of year. that has not been a popular decision, obviously, with farmer

it is one of three fires burning in northern california right now. the city of san jose is getting more firefighters. an $8.6 million federal safety gramm will be used to hire and train more than two dozen recruits. 27 firefighters could be working by early next year. a construction milestone in the east bay when crews reach half point in construction of an automated people mover between bart and oakland international airport. it is putting more than 500 people to work, most of them from the bay area. the first official ride is expected in 2014. starting next year california drivers can send a text message while they drive as long as th don't use their hands. the governor signed a law allowing handsfree testing. ken bastida is live in mobile 5 >> you are right, the governor and legislature outlawed text while driving about three years ago. i'm waiting for one right now for my photographer. technically, if i was in my car with blue to and he sent me a text, here it goes. >> have you heard about the new law that allows hands free text while driving? >>