about it and we just came after work. >> we decided to check it out after work nearby for like all the coworkers and friends to meet up. >> welcome back to the work night. san francisco is hoping to revive the end of day buzz in its downtown, and tonight is another attempt in getting people there. good evening. i'm j.r. stone and i'm ama daetz. >> city leaders have been searching for the secret to unlock san francisco's pre-pandemic past and they think a series of new night time events may be the key. >> it's something we have closely followed every step of the way. we were there to watch one such effort get going back in march, with the start of the chinatown night markets now running on the second friday of every month. then just this past

monday, a reported on the nightlife summit held by mayor, breed and city leaders, stressing the importance of bars and clubs to keep the city energized and another good example of that tonight with the new first thursday block party downtown. yeah, the boost to san francisco is a central focus of our mission to build a better bay area. and the breakthrough we found tonight, abc seven news reporter tara campbell has more on the new energy coming to the work night. >> the stages to the food trucks. san francisco taking another step towards a comeback with downtown. first thursdays make it feel like there is actually things that are happening in downtown san francisco. >> make us think of a future in the city and give us hope. tonight, marking the first of many block parties in the soma district scheduled for the first thursday of each month. >> it's great. it's i saw them setting up. it's a fun vibe, it's nice to see a lot of the stores that i see in some of the, the other events. and yeah,

it's a good time. the food smells great. >> san franciscans need to remember that we are great at throwing a party and celebrating, getting people back to downtown. >> district six supervisor matt dorsey believes the city is on its way to bringing the downtown back from the pandemic. >> hopefully, this is the kind of thing that makes people who are have the option of working from home and commuting want to come downtown, and that's good for our downtown businesses. >> even if people are coming downtown for work, they leave as soon as it's done, so it's fun to actually have something nearby for like all the coworkers or friends to meet up and enjoy time together. i have little slimline versions of them right here, and for business owners, it's a welcome sight. >> i mean, these events are great. i love seeing all the people coming out. i mean, they're expecting 10,000 people tonight. that's amazing. on a thursday, the packed street offering a glimpse of what could be. >> i like being able to see the energy and kind of the vision of like, what it would look like if everyone did come back. >> san francisco, in my mind, is

hope. san francisco has changed and so, you know, we're going through a transition period. but all that means is that it's an opportunity for new stuff to bloom. >> tara campbell, abc seven news. >> there are, at least two more night markets coming up bhangra and beats takes over downtown at battery street in clay street next friday, may 10th. there are additional dates at that location in the fall. the city is also planning another sunset night market to be held this summer, and that's not all. >> before tonight's first thursdays event, more than 200 employees from five of san francisco's biggest companies downtown helped volunteer to clean up nearby streets. several months ago, executives from gap, levi's, visa, wells fargo and chase formed a coalition to revitalize the city, and now they are seeing their work in action. >> this is our home and people take care of their homes, and so we want to ensure that the neighborhoods that our employees are living and working in, the places where people are coming to visiting, are, are gleaming. >> with all that said, we are still seeing the city struggle to get workers to return

downtown. according to early data from real estate brokerage cbre, the city's office vacancy rate recently set a record high at more than 36. >> new developments on the fire that destroyed the ultra popular horn barbecue in oakland. investigators are treating the case as arson. the fire department says evidence found at the scene indicates the fire was intentionally set, but the investigation is ongoing, as is the search for suspects. the barbecue spot on mandela parkway closed after the fire back in november. but last week, horn's owners reopened in a shared space with their other restaurant on eighth street. >> the tensions on us college campuses seem to be simmering tonight, in what has been a week of clashes between police and protesters, according to new data compiled by the associated press. more than 2100 people have been arrested in pro-palestinian demonstrations nationwide since april 18th, and the unrest doesn't appear to be

slowing down tonight. police say they detained a driver in portland who briefly accelerated toward some protesters at portland state. nypd now says one of its officers accidentally discharged their firearm during a takeover at columbia university on tuesday. no one was hurt. the bullet hit a wall, and the white house also says today, second gentleman doug emhoff spoke with jewish students and hillel leaders about the claims of anti-semitism they're seeing at various universities tonight. abc news reporter zohreen shah has more on the campus protests and the new response from the president. reporter tonight, the smoke clearing from ucla's campus after more than 200 pro-palestinian student protesters were arrested in a massive police crackdown. >> hundreds of officers peeling back plywood barricades, launching flashbangs to break up crowds who defied orders to leave protesters wearing hard hats and gas masks, trying to

fight back with fire extinguishers. abc's trevor ault on the scene. >> protesters basically spent all of yesterday putting up this barricade. we're watching law enforcement tear it apart. one by one, firing these projectiles here as this encampment is basically slowing slowly coming down. >> one ucla professor who had joined a student encampment questioning the use of force. >> students are absolutely injured. i was on this prison bus after we were arrested, and students were students and faculty were were bleeding. >> the crackdown coming just one night after pro-israeli protesters attacked the pro-palestinian encampment using fireworks, pepper spray and their own barricades against them. around the country, more tense scenes at portland state university in oregon. officers clearing antiwar protesters from their library. they say only four out of the dozen people arrested were students. police showing these pictures of ball bearings and armor that they say were homemade weapons found on the campus library in new york

city. police say roughly half of the 300 protesters from the new york schools were outside agitators. president biden, pledging that peaceful protest is a right, but order must prevail. >> destroying property is not a peaceful protest. it's against the law. vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations. none of this is a peaceful protest. >> the president also condemned islamophobia, anti-semitism and discrimination against arab americans and here at ucla, while the encampment is now fully cleared out, some students vowing that they will be back. zohreen shah abc news, los angeles. >> one example of the peaceful protests has been on the campus of uc berkeley that is, until last night. three people were hurt when someone grabbed an israeli flag from a counter protester and a fight broke out. people at the encampment say they had nothing to do with it. >> we had one person who i've

never seen at the camp. no, no, none of us knew who disappeared immediately after. we're not sure who this person is today. >> the northern california chapter of the aclu put out a message saying there monitoring the situation on campus and around the state, freedom of speech and the right to assembly , including peaceful protest, are fundamental to our democracy. >> the aclu is committed to defending these rights, as well as to ensuring a free press on the ground, access to legal counsel and due process. >> the aclu has had representatives visit college encampments around the state, including at uc berkeley and cal poly humboldt. you can follow our coverage of the college campus protests in the bay area and nationwide around the clock on our website, abc seven news.com. >> today, the oakland police department paid a special tribute to two fallen officers. the names of officers tuan lei and jordan wingate were etched into stone. this alameda county 100 club memorial wall lists

other fallen officers and firefighters. lei was fatally shot while on the job last december. wingate just recently died from injuries sustained in an on duty crash in 2018. one. >> we are approaching a bit of a shift in the forecast, i guess you could say as we look out live across the bay area tonight, we're getting closer to that change on the way. that's right. >> let's bring in abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel, who is tracking what we're looking at ahead. sandhya. >> yeah. and ama and j.r, we are looking at back to winter this upcoming saturday. so we're going to be talking about downpours at times, gusty winds and slick roadways. so if you do have saturday plans you'll want to watch out for this storm. it's a level one on our storm impact scale and it's moving in our direction. it'll get here as early as saturday morning. so here it is 5 a.m. in the north bay. heavy rain around 8 a.m. is crossing most of the bay area as we go into the afternoon. just some scattered showers. the winds will pick up as well, anywhere between 25 and about 35

miles an hour. gusts in the afternoon and evening. it is a level one on our storm impact scale for saturday. rain with those brief downpours, slippery roads, breezy conditions, 4/10 of an inch to an inch. plus for most areas this is a cold storm and it's going to bring some snow to the sierra. i'll be back with a full look at the forecast to let you know if things will improve by sunday. coming right up, j.r. ama. >> all right, sandhya, thank you. let's move to san jose, where the cinco de mayo celebrations have faced some controversy in recent years. abc seven news south bay reporter lauren martinez has more on the proud lowrider parade, returning for the first time in over a decade and the change of plan from local law enforcement. >> we're taking over this whole corner from the 680 bridge to king and story. >> after months of planning, final preparations are underway for cinco de mayo festivities in san jose. >> it's going to be a mix of lowriders and different community groups, david polanco, president of the organization

united lowrider council of san jose, said. >> this year, the cinco de mayo community parade is making a return on sunday. polanco said it's all thanks to a collective effort. >> i would think we had $0, so it was something, you know, how do we do this? what's the vision? and we figured now it's we just wanted it to be uh- done by the community, for the community, more than 300 lowriders will be cruising from king and alum rock and end at story in king, where 90 different vendors will be set up at emma park. the sharks, you know, they're doing a collaborative effort with the local artists, abraham ortega on a shirt, and that's going to benefit a nonprofit. so there's a lot of little nuances within this, you know, voter registration. >> polanco credits the partnership with council member peter ortiz, office businesses and the san jose police department. last year, police closed streets and freeway exits , making festivities difficult to access.

>> we had a good talk and we've been working together ever since , just trying to build that relationship. >> this year, the san jose police department will have their own lowrider taking part in the parade in effort to mend the bond with the community. >> we i think we're fortunate the community is willing to collaborate with us. so we're thankful to these organizations and our elected officials who are coordinating to put all this together and allowing us to be a part of the celebration and to ensure that we can do so and people can celebrate safely, blanco said. >> safety is the goal this weekend so everyone can enjoy a memorable cinco de mayo. >> i hope people that need resources get them. i hope people that have never seen a horse dance in a parade see that. i hope people take a lot of pictures. and just like i said earlier, a safe family event and, have a lot of fun in san jose. >> lauren martinez, abc seven news robbed on the job. >> another bay area postal worker surprise attacked while delivering mail, plus the future

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we can tell you what it's capable of or you could find out for yourself. how we get there matters. get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. a bay area. a usps driver was robbed of his postal keys in oakland today in an effort to curb these crimes, police are offering a $150,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case or any other involving a robbery or assault of a postal worker. at least two

suspects were involved. robbery happened around 1235 this afternoon on euclid avenue in the adam point neighborhood, near the lake. happening now a repaving project in the north bay is affecting a major commuting artery. >> good news is it should be cleared by the morning commute. this is happening along highway 37. the westbound lanes are closed between vallejo and sonoma. the detour route is on your screen. take highway 29 to 12, then 121. the lanes will reopen by 4 a.m. caltrans is now restriping the lanes they freshly paved over the last couple of weekends. the plans to close the eastbound lanes this weekend have been postponed until later. >> it's one of the crown jewels of the bay area and it's getting some of its sparkle back. the bay bridge will see its shimmering lights return next year. the relighting project will come with a new design and twice as many leds as before. march of next year is the exact target date. two years after the lights went dark. today on our 3:00 pm program getting answers,

we asked why the lights went off and what the new display will be like. >> it just didn't hold up over time and it was starting to fail faster than we could ever keep up with economically. so we did the responsible thing. rather than let it fade into oblivion. we pulled it down. we have a crackerjack team now committed to making a product from the ground up musco lighting that will perform well over time, guaranteed minimally for ten years. and more than that, and we're bringing it back with double the number of leds so they'll actually wrap around the cables. so the light will be visible as a matter of esthetic equity to communities all around the bay. >> the organizer says they are still short, just $500,000 of the funding needed. if you want to chip in, you can donate at the bay lights 360.org. >> first lady jill biden hosted the first ever teacher of the year state dinner at the white house this evening. it's a cause close to the first lady's heart, as she herself still teaches at a community college. tonight's dinner honored state teachers of the year from across the nation.

the biden administration also announced new efforts to strengthen support for teachers and schools. missy testerman, an esl educator from tennessee, was awarded during tonight's dinner for being the 2024 national teacher of the year. >> you not only teach our students, we wrap our arms around them, advocate for them, help them feel secure and help them create a better future for themselves. >> the event comes ahead of teacher appreciation week, which starts on monday. >> two california wine companies have developed paper, wine packaging, and it's not a box. the monterey wine company and our bonny doon vineyard partnered to create a paper wine bottle. company representatives claim the packaging has a six times lower carbon footprint than an average glass wine bottle. the cardboard is completely sustainable, made out of 100% recycled material, the light weight of the bottles can

also positively impact the shipping process, and that changes the amount of truck space that you need. >> it changes the load weights when you're dealing with your employees and your forklifts. bonny doon vineyards pink rosé bottles are now available at whole foods stores nationwide. >> well, storm troopers took over the state capitol today alongside darth vader and other characters. >> may the 4th be with you on saturday. >> may not. today. saturday. >> today. saturday. >> assemblyman juan alanis of modesto joined other star wars lovers for an early celebration today in the rafters of a state assembly meeting. george lucas grew up in modesto, and much of the iconic film series originated in the small marin town of san anselmo. the town is now home to imagination park, which lucas built and donated, complete with its own yoda statue, right by where he began writing star wars. >> there is a serious amount of star wars history in the bay area, from the yoda fountain to all of the speculated sources of

inspiration, you can see where the force is strong by checking out our website at abc7 news .com. i hear it's strong on that website. >> yes, absolutely. >> all right, so let's check on our weather, find out exactly when that rain is going to start moving in. >> sandhya patel here to with a little more on that weather. >> yeah. >> and j.r. and ama it's going to be saturday. that you're going to have to deal with this. it's a spring storm. downpours, ponding on the roadways, reduced visibility. remember if your wipers are on, your headlights are on. and definitely take it easy out on the roadways. if you have plans and you're trying to get away. widespread morning rain and then showers in the afternoon, here is the storm. it's quite impressive for this time of year. it's a cold storm late in the season and it's going to give us a flashback to winter right now ahead of the storm, we're starting to notice the fog is banked up along parts of the coastline. visibility is poor right now. half moon bay three quarters of a mile, so you'll want to watch out. give yourself that extra time for the

morning commute. the pattern that we have here. high pressure over the pacific low to the north, a northwesterly wind flow coming off that cool ocean water with those sea surface temperatures in many areas along our coast running lower than where they should be. and then when that wind is coming off of there, it's feeling even colder. gusts to 23. right now the winds have come down, but they were stronger earlier today. now we managed to get up into the 80s in our warmest inland valleys. today it's going to be a different story tomorrow. we're still holding on to some of those mild temperatures, 50s and 60s, with the combination of the wind today and also some of that warmth. and now, right now, things are changing rapidly. sfo is showing you fog also from sutro tower you can see the golden gate bridge shrouded in the fog tomorrow. breezy cooler weather saturday saturday is wet and chillier. and next week we're going to bring back the sunshine and it will gradually warm. so your morning temperatures in the 40s and 50s once again. watch out for areas of fog tomorrow afternoon. numbers will range from the upper 50s near the coast, where it's going to be breezy to the

70s inland unless you're well inland in places like antioch, well, you'll get up to 80 degrees. so one more day of the warmth inland, then a level one storm, a light storm comes in saturday. rain with those brief downpours slippery roads is what you need to watch out for in the breeze. 4/10 to an inch plus for most areas. looking at those winds coming out of the south saturday morning, 31 miles an hour in san francisco, you will notice it's still pretty gusty around calistoga in the evening, 37 miles an hour. oakland 33. so definitely be aware of that, especially if you have any loose furniture in your backyard. 5 a.m. it's going to start raining on saturday, 8 a.m. you're seeing those downpours. it's widespread through 11 a.m. rainfall wise and then scattered showers for the afternoon hours. you'll see some sun isolated rainfall later on in the evening. as far as rainfall goes, you will be getting much of the rain that you normally experience in the entire month of may. we're looking at about a half an inch to about an inch plus in ben lomond winter weather advisory for the sierra saturday morning to sunday

morning. up to a foot for the higher peaks. gusty winds will mean travel will be difficult. to your accuweather 70 forecast, it's morning fog, a cooler day. saturday is the level one wet, breezy and chillier. and don't worry for cinco de mayo after a cold start, it's going to be a brighter day for the celebrations and then sunshine and warmer weather, bringing those s back into the mix by midweek

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a baseball game that we've ever seen before. >> it's true. instead of the bright stadium lights, imagine if everything was glow in the dark. one team is going to try it. the tri city chili peppers is a collegiate summer ball team in virginia. they will host the world's first ever cosmic baseball game on june 1st. it will feature fluorescent uniforms with neon bats and baseballs underneath, custom black lights at the stadium. that looks pretty cool. and yes, the team says it will be live streamed, so we all can watch. >> i don't know if i like that i broke my nose by a baseball. i don't know about that in the dark and oh yeah, well, anyway, the giants wrapped up their series in boston, a game that included a special visit. yes. >> sports director larry bales here with sports. larry umma jr. >> hall of famer carl yastrzemski visited his grandson mike before the game today, and the rest is history. grandson like grandfather going deep at

fenway p

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in boston. carl is a legend. hall of famer. grandson mike first homered in fenway in 2019. did it again today with the giants trying to avoid being swept by the red sox. this fantastic young giants fan at fenway skipping school. it's her birthday. she wants a picture with yaz. of course, he says yes . memory of a lifetime. no score in the third. yes, it's the plate. he hit it. wicked had gone another homer at fenway. the family, of course, loving all of this one. nothing giants. red sox will tie it up. june lee had misjudged. the sun earlier in this game, lays out for a spectacular catch right here. giants had a couple of runs in the seventh to salvage the series finale three one. another happy homecoming for yaz. >> i try to enjoy every chance i get to play here. uh. having a lot of family here is great and you know, the first time i was here it felt a little pressure to perform and play well, but this time i really got to enjoy it and just relax and see family

and have fun. >> nba playoffs knicks and sixers clyde frazier with world be free i love world be free classics. knicks built an early 22 point lead ex-warrior donte divincenzo. this game looks like it's a wrap early for new york. but philly comes all the way back thanks to joel embiid. he had 39. then philly went up by ten at one point. the knicks would then answer jalen brunson who's just been amazing. game high 41 tied at 83 after three with authority og anunoby for the knicks to help put this game away. they hold on 118 115 and take the series in six. oakland's own damian lillard trying to keep the bucks season alive. game six in indiana. no giannis. so dame's basically got to carry the load. he goes for 28 points despite that calf injury. but the bucks were down a dozen at the half. pacers would pull away obi topping off the turnover had 21 points off the bench. the bucks stop their 129 to 8 pacers onto round two against the knicks. the 40 niners want to keep brandon aiyuk and deebo samuel. that word from gm john lynch appeared on the pat mcafee show. the niners. yes, they took calls before the draft, but the plan

now is to resign aiyuk and try to win a super bowl. >> i've got so much belief. when you talk about guys like brandon aiyuk and deebo, they're guys we drafted, they're guys we take a lot of pride in what they've become, who they've become, and we couldn't be more proud of those guys. and so, you know, during the course of drafts and off seasons, do conversations happen. absolutely they do. we're past that now. >> sports on abc seven, sponsored by riv

>> lou: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight -- john mulaney. plus, music from gary clark jr. and stevie wonder. with cleto and the cletones. and now, jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> jimmy: oh, very nice. thank you very much. i'm jimmy, i'm the host of the show. thank you for watching.