. > lyanne melendez has more. >> repak han as a feisty city. but i can also tell you that voters here will have no problems letting her know whether or not she has done a good job when it comes to two major issues here which are the homeless issue and, of course, affordable housing. what mayor schaff have voters told you? >> absolutely. homelessness has been the number one issue i've heard about on the campaign trail this year. and while we traditionally count on the county to take care of it, we can't do that anymore as steps i was proud to get together with my mother big city mayers in california, 11 of us went up to sacramento and got for the first time direct allocations to cities to deal with the emergency crisis of getting people off the streets and into safety and services. but long-term it, the ultimate solution to homelessness is permanent affordable housing. that is what everyone in the bay area needs. >> they go hand in hand. you've dealt with these two issues for the past four years. what you do differently this time if you win? >>

lyanne melendez is live with that story. >> reporter: quickly, a pause here. they are wrapping things up here in front of city hall, but you can still vote you who are interested. with regard to this program, which involves high school students, it has been around for a very long time. it's just getting now a lot more attention because of the midterm elections. they work for one day, and it is one day they will remember forever. the midterm elections will be a lasting memory for 18-year-olds rebecca cavanaugh. it will be the first time she votes and she will spend the day at a poll worker at city hall. >> i'm working for my city and i get to be part of that process that i always hear about and see it from a different perspective. >> reporter: the department of elections hired 600 high school students, 500 of them are from the san francisco unified school district. they begin their day at 6:00 in the morning and stay until 9:00 p.m. >> they're there serving voters, having voters sign in, issuing ballots, collecting the ballots voters have voted for, offering as

i'm lifelong the embarcadero in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> that is so interesting, lyanne. >> it's true. >> i wouldn't have thought of that. we're known for a lot of things. but the fires, not necessarily jumping to my mind immediately. >> nor to mine. probably because we live here. when i travel back east, i hear that a lot these days as well. getting burned up there. >> for years, it was the earthquakes. >> now we're having such enormous explosive fires. >> true. >> all the time. >> just the haze behind us. >> declining. >> for a lot of people with the mask today. good job. you need that if you're outside. >> let me give you a look at what else is going on fl live doppler 7, you can see what appears to be clouds. but it's actually the smog billowing from the fires moving to the central valley and out to sea. this is the view, such as it is from sutro tower. oakland at 62. 65 mountain view. upper 6s at san jose, morgan hill and pacifica. this is another view of the smoke from east by hills camera. that dot off in the distance is the sun. it's 59 degrees at santa r

. >> abc 7's lyanne melendez lye from n lyanne melendez. >> known as small business central, larry. we were really lucky today. we also visited two other great location, the city of san carlos and the westport tall neighborhood. take a look. every day is a good day to shop at your neighborhood store, but since 2010, the saturday after thanksgiving has become the day to really support brick and mortar businesses that are small and local. linda owns ambassador toys. >> i think more and more people are beginning to understand the value of shopping local, and that unfortunately, you know, places like amazon are really stealing the business away. >> she admits her business suffered when the smoke from the camp fire covered the bay area. >> we had to keep the doors closed. so yeah, it definitely affected us. there are much fewer people out on the street. >> she hopes to make up for those losses in the upcoming weeks. sarah kelso now lives in sacramento, but as a child, west portal is where her family shopped. today she came back. >> it keeps the neighborhood of my childhood alye. >> the r

i'm live at usf, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> all right, lyanne, thank you. late today a number of school districts around the bay area announce they'd are cancelling classes for tomorrow. san francisco unified and schools in the san francisco archdiocese are to be closed tomorrow. all districts in contra costa county have also canceled school, and livermore unified and all other public districts will not hold classes tomorrow. with doe have a complete list of school closures on the crawl at the bottom of your screen and on abc7news.com. livermore unified was in session today. that area has been one of the worst spots in the bay area for air quality this week. abc 7 news reporter matt keller has a look at what parents and teachers are doing to try to keep their kids healthy. >> rain or shine or smoke, crossing guard barbara ruiz is helping kids in front of rancho las pass sitas in livermore. >> sure, i'm going to come to work. the kids need me. >> livermore has been the worse. very unhealthy levels means everyone may experience more health effect. >> sometime

. >> lyanne melendez sat down to talk with her about the things she wants people in this country to know. >> reporter: she assured me she will fight to stay in the u.s. as long as she can. she left el salvador a year ago by joining another caravan. she wants americans to understand that many people from central america have nothing left but fear and hope. "there has been times someone has put a gun to your head and you think it's all over." the country has been paralyzed by gangs and poverty. fearing for her son's life, she asked her mother to travel with the 15-year-old, and join one of the caravans now headed for the u.s. [ speaking foreign language ] she tells me she wants her son with her, even if they both have to live on the streets. in the meantime, she's staying in the east bay with a family who has opened their home. >> people like veronica are coming here because they have incredible fear where they live. and to come here to find a place where they can be safe to find a place where they can fly, to find a place where they can grow was important to us. [ speaking foreign languag

i'm live in san francisco, lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." >> okay, lyanne, thank you. >>> as dangerous air quality continues to plague the bay area, a utah-based company is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. purple air is a crowd sourcing based air monitoring system with numbers that have consistently been more alarming than the federal government's. "abc 7 news" anchor kristen sze is here to show you how it works. >> dan, this map shows you where purple air sensors are located. you can see in the u.s., mostly green and yellow for good or acceptable air. but we will show you the bay area here, and you will see it is all dark red pretty much. that means air quality that is just dangerously unhealthy. let's go ahead and just click on the san francisco dot right there, that's in the south beach. that sensor shows 282 as the air quality index, and the seven-day graph you can see shows it has been bad the whole week. now we're going to show you this. each dot represents one purple air sensor, costing about $250. it uses a fan to draw air past a laser, causing reflections from particles, an

i'm live in san francisco, lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." >> that is good to hear, lyanne. thanks very much. >>> in butte county the list of people missing after the camp fire still has almost 1,000 names on it. >> "abc 7 news" reporter kate larsen is live in paradise with the story of one man's search for his brother. kte. >> reporter: well, the clark family lives in paradise, or at least they used to. they tell me that their house is leveled, much like this one here on starlight court. but one family member told me that the prospect of losing his brother was much more painful than losing all of their belongings. >> just curious if you guys have seen a guy out here, about 6'7", african-american? somebody by the name of maurice clark out here? >> reporter: jonathan clark has ever since his family evacuated from their home in paradise. >> we got separated somewhere along the way, and we just haven't heard from him since. >> reporter: jonathan has been driving and walking from shelter to shelter following up on leads as to where mo might be camping. >> whether or not i find h

lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> lyanne, thank you very much. the a's are hosting an open house between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. at the team's headquarters located in jack london square at 55 harrison street. and tell us what you think now. use the the #betterbayarea on social media to share your thoughts on the proposed new ballpark and how it could change oaan>> whave l of weaer news to talk about tonight. >> a really strong storm is coming in. >> as strong as we've seen in a while, ranks 3 on the storm impact scale, that's significant. we have pockets in the bay area right now. the storm is moving from the southwest, so the south bay is getting rain generally before other areas. but we've had a couple of localized downpo in san francisco in the last couple of hours. this is the view from the abc 7 exploratorium camera. there are a few isolated showers here already in the central part of the bay area. temperature readings right now, low 60s in san francisco, oakland, and mountain view. upper 50s in half moon bay. this is the view from the east bay h

abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez is live at the berkeley mari marina. >> you guys are over there but of course you can't see a single building in san francisco with where we are at the berkeley marina. practically all cities in the bay area were red today. the worst ones were conquered and livermore. on a holiday todayed toos santos park in downtown concord would be packed with families enjoying the outdoors. but parents tried limiting playground time. >> we've been staying ib doors, windows closed trying not to go out. >> jim king took his grandchildren out for a few minutes because they were going stir crazy. >> went out for a few minutes and then we'll go back home. seems like the weather's getting a little bit better but not much. >> reporter: most people at restaurants were opting to eat inside. we did find this couple who decided to defy the conditions here. >> the air quality's bad but don't think it's as bd bad as it is in concord as it may be somewhere else. can i tell you it's the worst in the bay area today. >> oh, man. >> i didn't know that. >> you're talking about cars b

"abc 7 news" reporter lyanne melendez shows you what lessons we can learn from what we've been through. >> reporter: when it was clear that the quality of the air was improving, the san francisco municipal transportation agency allowed people back on its cable cars. >> today we're in a stable red or unhealthy condition, and we feel it is going to keep getting better, especially with the rain coming tomorrow. that's why we started them today. >> reporter: tourists had lost out on the san francisco attraction since last thursday afternoon when the air quality got even worse. this family from colombia lined up to ride the cable car today. >> this is our first visit to san francisco and, you know, when you go through the tour guides, they told you that you must try this. so for us it is a very nice experience. >> reporter: at least one san francisco supervisor says we have to learn from this experience. hilary ronan is proposing the city purchase n-95 mask for every library and classroom in the city. she also wants the school system to have air filtration systems in every classroom. it is

"abc 7 news" reporter lyanne melendez with the dos and don'ts. >> reporter: at san francisco's drew school students are asked to follow costume guidelines when dressing up for halloween, many of which are a matter of common sense. >> native people are people. things like feather have significant importance and it is not something you grab out of a costume store. but the biggest thing, especially working here at drew, is not to shame people. it is to educate and then do better. >> reporter: students here were invited to watch an online video called "my culture is not a costume." >> it sucks to see that. it is offensive. >> it isik butcherf m cu >> reporter: the o wh tho who d ignorance by opening up a conversation. for the most part, people are misinformed and are not acting out of malice. >> it is a cleopatra costume. >> in the real world you shouldn't have to educate them. it shouldn't be like you need to, but if you are willing to take the time and do so, that's amazing. hopefully they do learn from that. >> reporter: maria berman is a senior here, which automatically makes her a superhe

lyanne melendez went around san francisco yesterday to see the preparations under way. >> mike fitch sells fine oils and balsamic vinegar. he focuses on unique items not at big box stores. that's what makes his store so successful during the holidays. >> up through the holidays from here on it's pretty much insane. >> reporter: small businesses in sand carlos on the peninsula are grateful to american express for starting this saturday after thangiving trend in 2010. since then it has become the day to really support brick and mortar businesses that are small and local. linda owns ambassador toys in san francisco's west portal neighborhood. >> places like amazon are really stealing the business away. so you're not seeing little shops along the way. you're not seeing that local business unless you know the neighborhood and the city begin to support it. >> sarah kels o now lives in sacramento. but pass a child west portal was where her family shopped. >> this is our sixth generation from the area. >> oh, and supporting local businesses. >> absolutely as you can see with a nice board gam

abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez went around san francisco yesterday to see the preparations under way. >> reporter: mike fitch sells fine organic olive oils and balsamic vinegar. he focus z on unique items not found at big box stores. that he says is what makes his store so successful during the holidays. >> up through the holidays from here on it's just pretty much insane. >> reporter: small businesses in sand carlos on the peninsula are grateful to american express for starting this saturday after thanksgiving trend in 2010. since then, it has become the day to really support brick and mortar businesses small and local. linda owns ambassador toys in the west portal neighborhood. >> places like amazon are really stealing the business away. and so, you know, you're not going to see little shops along the way. you're not seeing that local business unless you know the neighborhood in the city begin to support it. >> sarah kels o lives in skrom but as a child west portal was where her family shopped. >> this is our sixth generation from the area. >> oh. and supporting local businesse

i'm live in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >>> thank you. the smoke is still impacting travelers at sfo. .poor air quality caused hundreds of delays for the past week and a half or so. the airport started its delay program at 8:00 a.m. because of the low visibility. dozens of flights were impacted early. officials say the air quality improved making it much better than yesterday when close to 300 flights were delayed according to flight aware.com. >>> firefighters are gaining the upper hand against the fire that decimated paradise. according to cal fire, containment in the camp fire has risen to 70%. that's up 66%, or was 66% on monday. the blaze has burned more than 151,000 acres, 236 square miles. look at it this way. five times the size of san francisco. 79 people are dead. 699 more still missing. mandatory evacuations have been lifted for the burn area's perimeter in butte county. close to 13,000 homes have been destroyed. >>> some of the tens of thousands of camp fire evacuees getting back into their neighborhoods, it's bittersweet. >>

in the newsroom, lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." lyanne, thank you. >>> we mentioned we are looking at two issues tonight related to newly-approved measures. let's talk transit. >> mountain view voters passed measure p. chris wynn continues live team coverage with a closer look at the story there. chris. >> reporter: hi, dan. the city of mountain view has not updated its business tax since 1954. proponents say it needed to happen, but critics argue this type of tax was the wrong way to go. you already know that traffic is rough across the bay area, but in mountain view, home of google, city officials have a long list of projects to tackle. >> we need to put in an underpass at the tracks, build a transit center. we have an advanced guide way we want to build. >> reporter: the city now has a pathway to putting those into motion after voters overwhelmingly passed a so-called head tax. it will athe city to charge businesses a tax per employee. the more employees you have, the higher the rate. google would pay $149 per person. the tax ov

lyanne melendez, abc7 news. >> a complex issue. if you have an issue you'd like to focus on, share with us by adding the #betterbayarea on your social media post. together we're working to build a better bay airy. >>> people are suing over the google mega campus. they claim the nondisclosure agreement that they previously sign ready unlawful. abc 7's chrstgis nguyen has mor >> reporter: they want more transparency and this all comes as the city council is set to vote on the proposal in early december. at san jose city hall this average demonstrators crashed the lobby of sam . >> they're being dub in a way that really makes it impossible for the community to really unsz the magnitude of the project and the impact of the project. >> the lawsuit was fired today in santa clara county by working partnerships usa and the first amendment coalition accusing them of negotiating the major details bhienlehind closed door sthoos they have an obligation to provide editions to the public. >> reporter: the allegations were called baseless? the mo

lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >>> they're all coming together for the cause. >> thanks for joining us at 4:00. i'm a.m. i daetz. >> i'm larry beil. abc 7 news at 5:00 starts now. >>> the principal was saying, yellow alert and we were all really scared. >> that brought out search dogs and nervous parents. the investigation now under way. plus -- >> creating a space like this for women is so crucial for us to get back up on our feet. >> a space exclusively for women. why a judge may kick them out at any moment. >> the weather outside, the winter-like weather, it's going to stick around for a while. >> we're excited about the snowfall. >> there are a lot of folks that call it the upside to the downfall. >>> yes. you got to know >>owouts. he's talking about the water ofa tocanificight. >> after months of dry weather, a series of storm fronts starting to roll through the bay area. >> here's a live look at sfo. flights are delayed as is so often the case when weather is like this at the airport. >> here's a live look at traffic on the san mateo bridge. it is a little messy and certainly a l

in the newsroom, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> all right, thank you, lyanne. we did send out a push alert on the shooting overnight when the story first broke. be sure to get details about breaking news sent to your phone when it happens. >>> a federal appeals court in san francisco is upholding a block on president trump's efforts to end dacdaca. a three-judge panel of the ninth court of appeals today kept in place an injunction to phase out the deferred action for childhood arrivals program that decision basically means the law enforcements by california and others challenging the administration's decision will continue in federal court. daca has protected more than 700,000 people who were brought to the u.s. illegally as children or came with families that overstayed their visas. >>> coming up next, a celebration of life. >> the giants and fans celebrate willie mccovey. we take you to a very special ceremony. >>> i'm spencer christian. a is stunning sunset. air quality is declining as smoke from the wildfires moves >>> baseball fans and players past and pre

. >> abc news reporter lyanne melendez shows the result of the experiment. >> there's two adjustment knobs on the side. >> reporter: they were introduced to new microscope to anallize the contents of the petri dishes. they were left outside for the last four days for the benghazi benghazi -- nor the last four days to capture bad stuff. >> we had the lid over it with the vast lien some know particles really good in. we had a different one, we did not have the lid on it, the experimental. >> reporter: using a grid, students picked three random boxes and averaged the number of particles. >> if you use the naked eye to see it, we only see the chunky ones. once we put it under the microscope we see a lot more. we are actually breathing way more than we thought. >> reporter: the size of particles are usually described in microns. one micron is equal to one millionth of a meter. to give you an idea how small a micron is. take a human hair. the diameter is between 60 and 80 microns. particles that are less than ten microns are breathable and can settle deep into the lungs causing health prob

i'm live in san francisco, lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." >> all right. thank you so much, lyanne. in the east bay, the parking lot was full and people were lined up to get into stores at the outlet mall in livermore. some stores looked like they were ransacked by shoppers looking for a good deal. >> it is crazy and people wait in line and, yeah. but i bought what i want and i love it. it is a good deal. >> i'm glad she got her deal. the outlet mall opened at 3:00 p.m. thursday and will close at 10:00 tonight, providing 19 hours of shopping. >> oh, boy. >> if you decide to come next year, it was pretty quiet between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m., so that might be your window. >> that's the key. all right, thanksgiving is over. the focus now is turning to christmas. "abc 7 news" anchor dion lim joins us in santa clara for a special tree lighting. hey, dion. >> reporter: hey there, cheryl. good to hear from you once again. hey, it is still raining here in santa clara, but get this. it is also snowing every 15 minutes. fake snow though because we are in santa claire where you can hear it sounds

. >> abc 7's lyanne melendez has a few good pointers to keep your family safe. >> reporter: you would think that by now every home should be equippedith smoke detectors. firefighters responding to a home emergency are often surprised to see what they discover. >> there's no smoke detector. or there is one but it looks like the battery's out. or the exits are blocked with storage or other items. >> reporter: hoping stories like this one will help educate people, kita, the home depot and abc 7 have their yearly campaign to help raise awareness. with the help of fire departments the donated devices are handed out to people who need them. >> this is our ninth year here in the bay area, and throughout the nine years we've been able to donate almost 32,000 smoke and carbon monoxide alarms into the area. >> reporter: according to the national fire protection association, three out of five deaths during a home fire are kur because there was no smoke alarm or it wasn't working. here's another fact. the smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a fire in half. fire departments want people to know t

. >> abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez is live at the coliseum with a closer look. >> reporter: a little bit of history first. the construction of this coliseum began in 1962. the raiders were already here in oakland. now this beautiful new coliseum helped lure the a's from kansas city to oakland. back then the ownership was transferred to the city and also the county of alameda. and it seems now that it may soon be owned by the a's. for more than 52 years, both the city of oakland and alameda county have shared ownership of the coliseum complex, which includes the oracle arena. it hasn't always been a stable marriage. >> the county doesn't trust the city, city doesn't trust the county. in terms of trying to work together. >> reporter: that's alameda county supervisor nathan miley, who favors selling the county's portion to the city so oakland can negotiate directly with the a's organization. >> there was an appraisal done the prope years ago. it's appraised at about $160 million. >> reporter: if the complex sold for that today, the county would get half, minus what they still owe on the

lyanne melendez is in san francisco where they are staffing up the polls. >> but we begin with david louie and why there will be extra eyes in san mateo county particularly. david? >> reporter: santa may teyo county has mandatory vote by mail ballots. the u.s. justice department is going to be here tomorrow. they're not saying whether they've identified any particular issues, but officials say they have a good idea what they might focus on. the election workers are already immersed in the opening of mail-in ballots and verifying the signaturing. when tabulation begins, monitors will be on hand to ensure compliance with the voting rights act.

lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> a lot of groups are asking for your money on giving tuesday. we put together a gifting guide on our website, abc7news.com. find out how to get facebook to match your donation, avoid fraudulent fundraisers and how to take part even if you droent is money to give. just search giving tuesday on abc7news.com. >>> 40 years ago today, san francisco and the nation were shaken. >> we take >>> today marks the 40th anniversary of one of san francisco's darkest hours. they were assassinated inside their offices at city hall. another politician killed them, former supervisor dan white. families and colleagues are still expressing grief while praising the paths each man foraged. >> who would want to harm george masconi. >> i believe i had some comfort to know that george and harvey left this world together. >> the legacy of my dad and that of harvey is not one of trarged. it is one of opportunity. >> melk was california's first openly gay elected official. a candle light march will go to city hall just like after the murders 40 years ago. >>> new details ar

lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >>> if you need a quick primer on the issues on the ballot, kristin zee is here to show you great resources we've put together. >> that's right. we have a comprehensive voting guide on abc7news.com. it's on the home page. get to the november 2018 elections. what you'll see is this, we have every single state proposition listed. if you click on one of them, not only do you get detailed information, but in the short video you will see the pros and cons, the proponents and opponents on each side explaining the issues. there are also some great meet-the-candidate type of videos we have on many key area races. let's take a look at some of them. let's check out, for example, oakland city council election. you click on that and you will certainly see an announcement from every candidate and their positions on some of the key issues as well. we also have a very cool feature for you. if you care about the national election results here, we'll show you this map. as the results start to come in tonight and start to get populated, you'll be able to get realtime resul

lyanne melendez went around san francisco yesterday to see the prepare are prep work under way. >> mike sells vinegar and oils. you sells unique items not found at big box stores. that he says is what makes his store so successful during the holidays. >> up through the holidays from scarlos on the peninsula are grateful to american express for starting this saturday after in. since then it has become the day to really support brick and mortar businesses that are small and local. linda owned ambassador toys in the west portal neighborhood. >> places like amazon are really stealing the business away. and so you know you're not seeing little shops along the way. you're not seeing the local business unless you know the neighborhood and the city begin to really support it. >> sarah kels o lives in skrmt but as a child west potterle was where her family shopped. >> this is our sixth generation from the area. >> oh, and supporting local business zblos absolutely as you can see with a nice board game, huh. >> her son left with a game hungry hippo. the rain didn't stop maggie baker. she got toys

in san lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> abc 7 news is building a better beau. we are examining issues that affect quality of life and tngyiin fo dan ashley explains how a small number of cars with artificial intelligence could soon improve traffic for other cars on the road including yours. >> it happens to every.dy and s slow down while others cruise along. it's what phantom traffic jam. >> you are stuck because of the way people drive. mall disturbances from one driver get magnified by the driver behind. speed up, slow down. speed up, slow down. >> dan work a traffic expert from vanderbilt university knows abouetht he ran this test demonstrating a relevant phenomenon you can see it sped up in this video. 22 cars driving in circle. >> the drivers are told to drive as they would in rush hour traffic. inevitably eventually the cars go into a stop and go traffic pattern. drivers racing around one side of the traffic just to get he other side. >> here is video with data from an experiment that shows what we can do about it. these are the with one exception. the ar

in san francisco, lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." >> thank you. >>> tomorrow the polls are open 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. if you have a vote-by-mail ballot, you can drop it off at any polling place by 8:00 p.m. or mail. as long as it is postmarked tomorrow and received by friday, your ballot will be counted. most mail-in ballots need extra postage and don't forget to sign the back of the envelope. >>> several companies are making it easy for you to get to the polls. ford gobike will let you check out a bike for free tomorrow. they're docked in san francisco, san jose and in the east bay. rideshare provider lyft is giving 50% off rides to the polls. uber is giving a $10 discount on a single ride to your polling place. in san francisco, scooter riders on skip get a $5 credit for showing that they scooted to the polls. i you use scoot, you will get a free ride. li line -- lime scooters and bikes can be ridden for free to the polls. >>> ranked choice voting is being used in several races. if you are confused about how it works, "abc 7 news" anchor kristen sze is here to explain it. >> let's go to t

live in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >>> we have a new tool that lets you check the current air quality conditions in your area. >> abc 7 news meteorologist drew tuma has a look at that. >> reporter: you can go to abc7news.com/weather any time and see this map update so you can check the air quality hour-by-hour. right now we'll zoom in to a couple of locations. i want to take you to the southern half of the bay area, the red dots from the east bay, san francisco, into the south bay, we're breathing in unhealthy air at this hour. i take you over to livermore. look at that, very unhealthy air has settled into much of the inland east bay. in fact, the past week, this is the worst it has been the past seven days right now. that air outside is certainly hard on those with respiratory issues and those without respiratory issues. we'll take you into the north bay as well, still unhealthy air quality. a lot of folks want to know this weekend where could they potentially go to kind of escape some of the smoke we have here locally. the best bet is going to tahoe right now. it looks l

in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >>> abc 7 news is committed to building a better bay area. so we are spending more time examining issues affecting our quality and life and trying to find solutions. dan ashley explains how a small number of cars with artificial intelligence could soon improve traffic for all the other cars on the road, including jurors are yours. >> it happens to all of us drur driving along when for no obvious reason some cars slow down while others cruise along. it's what experts call a phantom traffic jam. >> you are stuck because of the way people driving. small disturbens from one driver get magnified. then soon it's seed up, slowed down. >> dan work a traffic expert from vanderbilt university knows about the phantom traffic jam. his team ran this test demonstrating a real phenomenon. you can see it sped up in the video, 22 cars driefgt in a circle. >> they are told to drive as they would in rush hour traffic. inevitably inevitably the cars go into a stop and go traffic pattern. drivers race around one side of the traffic jam just to get caught in the

lyanne melendez got ansrwe a ve >> stephan wieker.s a because of the unhealthy air she limited the time out with thehem for an hour and a half today. >> half of what you half,usuay. just to g t. >> old serom dogs required needed assistance. >> i take them out. we're not going very r shorter walks now. >> at dolores park we ran into harriet, her owner told us conditions out here have not been good for the dog. >> i don't take them out for as long as isu uly do. and she -- because she is coughing so much i have to hold her a lot. his wonma pteosd a picture of her dog with a small bandanna covering its face w mchhih good. masks aren't effective either. lerate them fitted anyway. 't >> dr. o' neill just returned from chico where she and other adts were treating animals. b idea to wipe down dogs after a walk because the wh thes og cases wi par particulate matter on the coat you want to wipe it away. >>> last night she brought home a senior dog after the owner, an eldey wom coos luldn't care for her. the dog's name is gizmo. er t>> she i was is very full. le 800 zms. troig to manage the needs

"abc 7 news" reporter lyanne melendez looks at how people are coping with it. >> reporter: with the air quality so poor, it wasn't the best day to be a tourist in san francisco. >> i'm feeling a little in my chest, but other than that it is all right. >> reporter: tight? >> yeah, just a little tight. >> it's been all right until the fire came along. >> reporter: cable car operators were given masks to protect themselves from the smoke. ♪ >> reporter: being on the pickett line today was especially trying for any worker on strike. >> i cannot bring up my voice. i have sore eyes, i have stuffy nose. >> reporter: the school playground is typically bustling with kids at noon, but san francisco unified ordered every school to keep kids from playing outdoors. >> we've been monitoring the air quality for san francisco, and we know that right now it is not at a healthy level so we want to make sure that kids are kept indoors. >> reporter: there were cries of disappointment from twin peeks, the quintessential wedding photo was not meant to be. >> it is not clouds, it is all smoke. >> reporter: