itac -- www.vitac.com good evening. i'm diane dwyer. an afternoon adventure turned deadly for two teenagers who tried to go rafting in a drainage canal in walnut creek. crews found the raft at the spill place of the canal near treat and bancroft in walnut creek. elise kershner has more on the story. >> reporter: it's such a tragedy. they just released the young victims' names. 16-year-old matthew miller and 17-year-old gavin powell. i want to show you now a photo of gavin powell. both powell and miller decided to go rafting yesterday afternoon in a two-person

inflatable raft. they launched into the creek behind nearwood elementary school at about 2:00 p.m. crews found the deflated raft this morning in the canal near bancroft and treat in concord. then around 311:30, miller's boy was discovered. authorities found powell's body two hours later near stanwill drive, nauls concord. investigators say the creek's water level can vary from two feet up to 15 feet during storms. and with the significant undertow, the raft could have easily been damaged. >> we had the recent rains. you mix the river or not the river, the creek swelled. it becomes fast moving. what's more dangerous is the debris that's in the water. branches, rocks. you can think of any other debris that's in there. >> reporter: investigators say this isn't the only time tragedy has struck in this canal. last year a canal went into the waterway at north broadway and lincoln avenue. in that accident a father and son died in the canal.

as far as this most recent tragedy, investigators do not suspect foul play. we'll have more on this story coming up at 11:00. for now, live in concord. >> thank you for the updaerkts elise. it was sunny and clear for much of the bay area today. perfect to enjoy the snow-capped peeks around the bay area. viewers have been sending us pictures all day long. check out these from mt. hamilton right near the lick observatory. let's check in with ron mayeda. >> yes, the snow totals around the bay area, very impressive. 48-hour window from thursday on into saturday. look at mt. hamilton. 14 inches of snow. so no wonder even if all the sunshine, that snow is sticking around in some of the higher peaks of the bay area. the problem after the recent rain, we got the clearing skies, wet roads overnight. this morning it was like an ice rink. fortunately for some of those roads around napa county, selano county and highway 4 and 24,

lots of spin outs. earlier this morning, temperatures in the low 30s. around the bay area we still have lingering showers around morgan hill. showers rolling off the santa cruz mountains heading off to the south and east. we will see an increasing chance of showers heading into tomorrow so we'll be tracking this next storm system as we get back to your workweek. plus the possibility of seeing more ice for the morning commute. we'll track both for you coming up in the full forecast in a few minutes. >> thanks, rob. this year's maverick surf competition is shaping up to be a big disappointment for surfers and for the local economy. these are pictures from last year. if no giant waves start rolling in by the end of the month, the contefst will be canceled this year. weather experts are blaming la nina for this year's small waves. one of the organizers of maverick says it's a loss all the way around. >> we really depend on this for our business, our community depend on this for keeping -- keeping our businesses alive all

winter long. >> if big swells are just around the corner, big wave surfers have just 24 hours to fly to half moon bay for that contest. a san francisco-based parent organization is trying to push some state lawmakers they say to save public education in this state. the vote campaign is encouraging voters to write their lawmakers as well. they are hoping it will encourage lawmakers to put an initiative on the ballot that would extend taxes now set to expire on july 1st. those taxes would continue to fund education at the current levels. the governor's budget for k through 12 public education assumes the extension of the taxes for another five years. so here's the problem. two-thirds of the legislature needs to vote just to allow the measure to make it on to the ballot. and right now the governor is about four votes short. we have an update on a story we brought you last night. a benefit concert for a boy with cancer raised $1,300. a band with bay area ties headlined the fund-raiser last

night for 4-year-old noah stout. he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that is inoperable and in most cases incurrable. he has a brain tumor on his brain stem and doctors gave him just about a year to live. his family decided to put him in a clinical trial in houston, but that trial is expensive. so to help with the cost of the experimental drug treatment, noah's friends stepped up to the plate creating i heart noah.org and holding charity concerts. another benefit concert is set for thursday in san francisco at club six. a south bay man has made what some call the donation of a lifetime. walter ttcostlesle ierincottlel the large family farm to the people of the south y. the cottle farm sits on nearly 300 acres. it's been with the family for generations. nbc bay area's damon trujillo was at the farm soon to become an agricultural museum.

>> reporter: they say you can drive for miles and see nothing but orchards and smell the wonderful perfume of the flowers. they called it the valley of hearts delight. the time when the fruits of san jose were used to feed the soldiers at the presidio of monterey. >> it was just gorgeous. >> reporter: jim reed is curator of orkifs at history san jose. he's ecstatic walter cottle lester donated the family farm so santa clara county can keep a part of its history. >> i'm always very pleased to see anyone trying to preserve relics of our history. so much of our history has been lost over the years. >> 287 acres of prime real estate in what is now the silicon valley. 150 years of history soon to become open space, a living agricultural history museum. >> he really just kissed about $500 million good-bye in favor of leaving a legacy to the public here in san jose.

>> dave cortez knows the significance firsthand. his family has a 100-year farming history in the valley, and as a lawyer, he helped mr. lester with the red tape of donating the land. >> what he wanted to do is preserve something for all the kids to come. so that they could enjoy a little slice of the kind of lifestyle that he had when he was a little boy. >> reporter: a man who wand everyone to remember the valley of heart's delight. damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. >> walter cottle lester had to fight off developers who wanted his land and just donating it has been years in the making with the legal roadblocks and red tape involved in making such a large donation. coming up next at 6:00 -- >> you just can't explain the physical evidence. >> accusations of mental illness, sex crimes and the priesthood. now a south bay family is demanding answers. and still coming up, rain is not leaving the forecast any

time soon. we'll have a look at that. plus, there we go, how royal watchers can really get into the spirit of the weddin, a vioacply also. we'll have that. it's really delicious, mom. it's not too well done? nope. but it is a job well done. what are you reading, sweetie? her diary. when you're done, i'd love some feedback. sure. your mom and i read that thing cover-to-cover. loved it. thanks. would you mind if i cut the lawn this weekend? only if you let me talk to your mother on the phone for hours on end. done. [ male announcer ] u-verse brings peace to the family. at&t u-verse lets you record four shows at once from any room and play them back on any tv. get u-verse tv for only $29 a month for 6 months. in the network, everyone can get along.

so if your invitation to the royal wedding was lost in the mail you can still do a tour of the bride-to-be's hometown. she's from buckleberry england. so now a british tour company is launching a bus tour of her hometown. it had to happen eventually. there's been a whole lot of interest from tourists worldwide in seeing where she came from. local business owners are on the fence about it. is that a horse and carriage really going by there? about how such a tour would affect the town's tranquillity. that town say lot like the rest of the world wondering who has been invited. and "nightly news" reported david beckham is on the list. >> there would be a reason for asking david beckham since they -- prince william and he

did the world cup bid together. there would be a reason for inviting elton john since he played at his mother's funeral. we mustn't discount celebrities. they know celebrities. >> yes, they do. the royal wedding is set for april 29th at westminster abbey. thousands turned out for the south vietnamese festival in downtown san jose. while the chinese celebrate the year of the rabbit, this is the year of the cat in the vietnamese calendar. more than 40 marching groups representing the vietnamese community took part in the parade. the year of the cat symbolizes sensitivity, gentleness and kindness. still to come at 6:00 -- a bay area man dedicated his life to his church. but now all eyes are on the church for answers. we investigate the south bay mystery coming up next. and watching our temperatures dipping back into the 40ss tonight. one of the two things we'll be watching to see if we get any more patchy frost and ice. plus more clouds offshore hinting at rain showingst.

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it's a south bay mystery involving sex, deception and ultimately death. so what caused a jesuit priest to leap to his death in downtown san jose seven years ago, and did he really jump? plus, what is the link to another priest in the news these days, one accused of sexual misconduct. nbc bay area's garvin thomas investigates. >> reporter: there is barely a mention of it in the sat "san jose mercury news." just two paragraphs about the body of a priest found the day before at the base of san jose's

civic center garage. little mention because news organizations try not to give too much attention to what appear to be suicides. indeed within a day, the medical examiner confirmed it. father james chevedden had jumped to his death from the sixth floor of the garage. >> the bible was found right by the left lamp post. >> but what took the coroner less than 24 hours to decide is something still questioned. seven years later. by the dead man's family. >> you just can't explain the physical evidence. >> reporter: john chevedden is his father. he was a jesuit for more than 37 years, serving more than two decades as a missionary in asia. but in 1995, father chevedden suffered a breakdown. brought back to the united states, he was ultimately placed here. the sacred heart jesuit center in los gatos. normally a home for older or ill

or priests in transition, sacred heart housed another group chevedden soon discovered. jesuits accused of sexual misconduct. >> that's correct. he wanted to actually leave. >> reporter: ray hassen is an attorney hired to sue the jesuit order over his death. the suit claims when the father protested the presence of the accused priests, he was labeled a troublemaker. a possible whistleblower. it claims father chevedden was even sexually assaulted himself at sacred hearto the fd ce remain in the same community with his alleged attacker. >> humiliated. everything that he ever believed in in his life was torpedoed and disassembled n he was placed into emotional shock on a continuing basis. >> reporter: all those things the lawsuit claims created such a hostile environment. that is what led the father to take his own life. the church eventually settled the case. the family's attorney saying they paid out more than a million dollars.

the jesuits declined to talk about the case, but others come to their defense saying father chevedden's history of mental illness, indeed a previous suicide attempt, are indications of just how troubled a person he was to begin with. but the end of the lawsuit was not the end of the story. >> after the lawsuit is settled, then, you know, further information comes about. >> investigators hired by the chevedden family came up with evidence they say was inconsistent with suicide. no note. wounds to chevedden's case that weren't explained by the fall. the fact a witness saw him fall bug never reported seeing him jump. and finally the family claims a police investigation that was rushed and incomplete. >> they didn't do really any investigating on it. they never called crime scene unit. >> and the family contends they didn't interview one person in particular -- father jaerld lindner. he is in the news these days because a man who accuses

lindner of molesting him as a boy allegedly assaulted him at sacred heart last year. lindner it turns out was also the man who drove shaurth chevedden downtown, the last dave his death. the last member of the jesuit oreer to s him alive. >> police ought to ask father lindner about the day of my brother's death. >> the san jose police department says the investigation was by the book for an apparent suicide. a spokesman says if the san jose police department had uncovered any sign of foul play, father chevedden's death would have been investigated as a homicide. but no such evidence ever came to light. they consider father chevedden's death a closed case with no plans to reopen it. we want to check in with rob mayeda checking out the weather. >> it's been tough to get these breaks between the raindrops that last more than a day.

a pretty good one for the day today for most of the bay. the temperature with the increase in sunshine rebounded. justice highs in the mid to upper 40s. 55 in san jose. 52 in san francisco. that was up from 44 degrees for a high yesterday. so we did coming up with our temperatures now with those clear skies or clearing skies around the bay area. quickly dropping back into the 40s. it's a little breezy outside. if these winds stay onshore, hopefully that will add more moisture to the air and keep our temperatures up a little bit because this morning it was a very challenging drive around the north and east bay valleys due to icy roads. for tomorrow morning we're still expecting patchy frost. same locations as we had this morning, but with more clouds spilling in. hopefully that will keep our overnight temperatures up but those clouds will bring an increasing chance of showers. still showers around morgan hill, around, looks like highway 152 between watson fill to gilroy. we've got more clouds and a challenging forecast for

tomorrow. this cut-off low is going to cartwheel its way down the coast. areas closer to the coast, the peninsula and shoreline will have the best bet for sees showers tomorrow. inland sections probably won't see anything out of this system. tuesday and wednesday dry out. then watching another cold system dropping in on us thursday into friday. for this evening you may need the umbrella in a few spots around the coastal hilltops. isolated showers. and tonight, let's hope this plays out. we get enough clouds that will act like a blanket and keep our temperatures up a few degrees. we head towards the afternoon. the rain close to the coastline. the greatest odds of seeing showers will be along the coast. monday evening into tuesday, skies clear which may mean more frost for that tuesday morning commute as well. for tonight, isolated showers around some of our coastal hilltops. if we get the clouds in here tonight, we may see temperatures closer to 40 degrees, but still planning for enough breaks in the clouds. we'll drop some of these temperatures into the low 30s around the inland valley.

so stay tuned to mike and christina tomorrow morning to see if we have ice on those north and east bay valley commutes. the temperatures heading into tomorrow. we'll see 50s for highs. pretty close to what we had today but with increasing clouds, increasing chance of showers, especially for places like pacifica, half moon bay heading over to san francisco. we'll see highs in the mid-50s around san jose. 53, san francisco. you head to the east bay, watching for that patchy frost again for the morning. for the north bay, highs in the 40s and 50s. best bet of seeing rain will be right around bodega bay as we go through late morning and early afternoon. tuesday, wednesday, we catch a break. at least a couple of days of dry weather and things may get a little interesting. we'll call it that for now. could see lower snow levels in this last pattern. >> really? >>tl lit>>eitfr b >> a little bit interesting. >> thank you, rob. we'll be right back.

one of the most famous musicians in the world is on his way to the bay area. prince says he's bringing his first u.s. tour in four years to

the west coast. it is short notice, though. he arrives in town tomorrow. prince's welcome to america tour plays at oracle arena monday and wednesday. tickets witness on sale at noon friday with prices starting at $50. and apparently there's some tickets still left. concert tours are usually planned for months in event but it's been a hallmark of prince's u.s. swing to make the announcement when it's just a couple of weeks or days away. so prince is here. he's fun, absolutely. what's going on. weird race today. >> major upset. shocking finish. we say that a lot. shocking. the daytona 500. pretty shocking. we don't like to overdo it. but if yunless you are a hard-c racing fan you probably never heard of the winner. spring training. coming in lean and mean. the pand apablo sandoval. and, well, stanford women getting a real test today. the 50-plus straight conference win streak t at risk. much at risk. that and more next in sports.

and now the xfinity sports desk. >> buster douglas. nc state taking down vai slam-a-jamma. the miracle on ice. all major upspepts but today a nascar rookie simply may have pulled off the greatest upset in the history of motor sports. the daytona 500. lap three. a tribute to dale earnhardt who died after a crash there ten years ago. two get piled up in a crash. vallejo and gordon. a major undog won in just his second sprint series race.

trevor bayne does the unthinkable at 20 years old. he turned 20 yesterday. not just a star in the making but the youngest driver ever to win the daytona 500. >> this is unbelievable. this thing is -- our first 500, are you kidding me. i can't even put into words what it means to me and what it means to him. he has worked so hard since he was little. to get here and in the stands with 50 to go, just let him finish the race. let him finish the race. i never dreamed he'd be here. >> pretty awesome race. some scotts dale, something that looks like an optical illusion. there have been some changes in the giants this off-season. one guy completely lightened his load is pablo sandoval. word is he's shed at least 30 pounds and worked out incredibly hard. this coming after last year's letdown where he found himself more on the bench. sandoval having a strong year on that hot corner.

>> i feel great. i've been working out. i had the past three months to put all the things together. meanwhile, at a's camp down the road, the full squad has reported. we're getting to know some of the new guys expected to bring some pop to the lineup. they've come to oakland from teams that weren't exactly contenders. willingham spending the last two seasons with the nationals. he hit 40 home runs. dejesus acquired from kansas city this off-season. he's health aerks gain. pretty thrilled with a change of scenery. >> i'm ready. i'm ready to win. the royals, they've been great to me. but, you know, i felt it coming. and, you know, being with oakland right now, you can just see how good they are going to be. and you know the pitching staff, play defense and i think we had enough offense and, you know, who knows. who knows what can happen. >> spring training coverage

continues. coverage of the giants and the a's. intensive spring training coverage. the stars are out in l.a. at the staple centers. the nba all-star weekend. amazing gun amazing dunks. tonight the actual all-star game. it's still kobe's town. the celebrities, galore. spike lee, dustin hoffman. i think we see warren beatty around the court. in the end, jack's there but not in his usual seats. they've just gotten under way. much more tonight on sports sunday. stanford women take on ucla. emeka sidelined. into the second half, this game closer than stanford would have liked. off the bench coming up big. she played all but three minutes of the game as did neka's sister chenae. the third-ranked cardinal pull away for their 18th straight win. their conference winning streak stays alive.

53 wins straight or 52. a lot of straight wins against the conference. >> they are pretty good. >> they're great. >> thanks for choosing the bay area at 6:00. "tech now" is up next. now another viewpoint. >> our latest editorial stated we believe in teacher tenness tennesseutennesseure reform that refuses to give ineffective wines hall pass. your responses were passionate and polarizing. one teacher exclaims ican only do so much. many parents don't follow up at home with homework checking or don't participate in conferences. another counters, great editorial. we're the only profession that guarantees employment after two years. this is a socialistic profession. this viewer adds, when teachers are compensated like those in business, we will have a more competitive and motivated environment. finally, one educator says a li p