not much else throughout the bay area. we'll see some showers beginning to pick up here in petaluma as we head through the next 30 to 40 minutes. what about the storm system? at 7:00 p.m. it's expected to linger over the north bay. even by 11:00 p.m., it's just slowly moving down to the peninsula and for parts of the east bay. we'll put a full track on this. we'll let you know what happened as we move through tomorrow. we're also taking a look at our coverage on climate. not just this week but a commitment we're going to be doing on tuesdays and thursdays going ahead. we'll introduce you to some climate research and some data we have taken a look at. i'll have it for you in about 15 minutes. >> so exciting. thank you, jeff. the alert that is the warning for firefighters in the north bay. there are areas still recovering from last year's wild fires. this is going to be tricky witht hurt to be prepared.

>> we would never not tell people to be concerned and on the lookout and be cautious, but we're not under some of those warnings or heavy concerns that we were last week. >> now firefighters say they are treating this very much like just an average rainstorm. they're reminding us we should be aware that the roads are slick and there is potential for storm drain back ups. the top story this evening, there's progress in contra costa county when it comes to the coronavirus. unveiling the first mass vaccination site and trending ahead of the state. take a look. 7% of californians received the first dose. 11% in contra costa county have there are concern there's inequities when it comes to who is are in hercules with the details. >> reporter: 500 people were vaccinated here today and 500 more expected to get the shot here tomorrow.

after the governor's call for fire departments across the state to help get more people vaccinated, contra costa fire answered the call setting up its first mass vaccination clinic at a church parking lot in hercules today. >> we are, as a fire service, using our emts and paramedics to operate what will be a growing number of public vaccination clinics. >> reporter: all the people vaccinated at this drive through clinic today had to be vetted and make an appointment with contra costa health services. lynn said she's relieved to finally get her shot. >> i have mother-in-law and m protected, make sure. >> reporter: new numbers show evidence of racial disparity when it comes to who is getting access for the vaccine in contra costa county and across the state. this county supervisor said he's concerned. >> the vaccination rates are about three times higher in some

of those wealthier, more white communities than in communities like richmond which has a higher percent of african-americans and latin residents. >> reporter: health leaders told him one possible reason is during the initial vaccine rollout, many doses went to people in skilled nursing facilities. many of which are in the more affluent communities of walnut creek and danville. he said to make sure there is equity. the county is planning to offer more clinics and do more outreach in communities with lower vaccine rates. in hercules, nbc bay area in san francisco today the city opened a neighborhood vaccination site in the mission district on 24th. it's the city's first neighborhood vaccine site. but they said more will follow. the bay view district up next. the mayor said the sites are located in neighborhoods highly impact populations.

they hope to expand to 400 a day. so as vaccinations ramp up across the state, so does concern about the variants and we've heard about one from overseas but there's also a domestic variant more prevalent in california. when you think you're getting used to something, there's a new pick up or hitch in this. >> yeah, jessica. as we've heard from doctors, variants are normal for sly -- viruss. we hear about the variants from the uk, south africa,ls a varia domestic. it was first sequenced here in california. it means it was first discovered here by top scientists but they're not sure where it was originated from. they believe it might be california. they're looking into that. it's called cal 20c.

it was first detected last summer. it makes up one in four cases in california. right now it's status quo. i spoke this afternoon with the california surgeon general, dr. burke-harris. >> there's no change in the way that we combat this virus. we still do the things we know work in terms of, you know, the four w's. washing hands, waiting to gathering, wearing masks. and vaccination. at this point, we don't see any data that our vaccinations would not be effective. so we still are continuing with our seg of our behavior and vaccines out as quickly as possible. but certainly we continue to watch it carefully and we're looking at the studies to understand what the impact is in terms of our vaccination strategy and whether or not our vaccine developers may have to

respond to any changes. >> you mean like tweak it a little bit? fine tune it? >> yeah. develop a booster, essentially, yes. >> okay. >> right. for the vaccine rollout, the state is getting better ramping it up but has a third party administerer to see the process is smoother and stream lined. according to the state website, it administered about 3.5 million shots so far. it's over 60% of the allotment. at this point, dr. burke harris said california is providing california with 250 to 500,000 doses a week. so it depends on each00 doses and that could go up even further if the johnson & johnson vaccine is approve bit fda. my interview with the california surgeon general tonight at 6:00 p.m. >> see you then. amidst the heavy news, there's a hopeful sign. covid cases are dropping

sharply. this graph shows the 14-day average of new cases here in california. take a look at january 13th. we had 40,000 on average new cases injeica? >> all right. thank you. reaching across the aisle. that was the best in front of biden today. ten gop senators met with president biden at the oval office as they pitched the president their own coronavirus stimulus plan. president biden's plan is expected to cost $1.9 trillion. republicans want that cut down on spending. it only costs $600 billion. you can see a comparison of the two plans. on the left is biden's plan. the right the republican's. the biggest difference is president biden is offering $1400 stimulus checks and the republicans want $1,000. mr. $170 billion to schools and republicans asking for $20

billion. today marks the beginning of black history month. it's not just to honor the people who made a difference in the past but people actively making a difference right now. every monday in february, we recognize the change makers. here is nbc bay area sierra jones. >> this week we are honoring dr. kim rhoads. by day an epidemiologist focussing on cancer research. but when covid began presenting itself in the bay area, it quickly became evident some communities were hit harder and the rate of infection was higher in the black community. she spearheaded a community initiative that brought some of the first pop up testing sites to the city of san francisco and later at parks and churches in oakland. her team brought together a group of community partners. these sites have become a model

of community-based testing and today we honor dr. kim rhoadz. >> it's not really about me. it's about the number of community partners and advocates, people from agencies across the county and the city who come together to actually create something. they generated the data. they did the mobilization on the street to get the people to come to our test sites. >> in oakland, sierra johnson, nbc bay area news. up next, arrested again. what police say a man accused of attacking a preschool's turtle was doing back at the scene of the crime. also, the food you throw away is hurting our environment. there are some simple things you can make, some changes you can make to save the earth and save you some money. it's part of the new climate in crisis series. and honoring a trail blazing

black american with ties to the bay area. today we recognize award winning actor danny glover. he grew up in san francisco, attended sf state. starred in films like "the color purple." he's also a civil rights activist and u.n. good will ambassador. today we salute danny glover.

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officers even brought him some fruit and vegetables to nibble on today. it didn't end there. police believe the man responsible for the attack tried to break into the school a second time this morning. not long after being released from jail. within the last hour, officers arrested him again. a lot of smiles and laughter today. students return from covid isolation to in-person learning. this is the first time in nearly 11 months that students are back in the classrooms at blossom hill elementary. out of 515 enrolled students, about 300 of them came back today. others will return later or, if they choose, continue distance learning. parents we talked to on campus, had no qualms about their kids coming back. >> i wasn't worried about anything. we had a covi school. it was very well organized last week. bo oren were negative. we were just very excited this morning. >> a lot of excitement. students must follow a series of covid safety measures inside and

outside the classroom including temperature checks and mandatory masks. coming up at 6:00 p.m., we'll hear from some of the students. this week we are spotlighting our climate in crisis. o reverse it. >> tonight we look at leftovers. our habit of tossing them out. experts say it's not only wasting food, it's destroying the planet. but as much as the problem is massive, fixing it can be simple. >> nbc bay area explains how easy it can be to cut down on food waste and fight climate change. >> the united states is a global leader on a number of issues and unfortunately this is one of them. >> the food wasted from the united states is equivalent to how much greenhouse gases are produced by 37 million cars. >> reporter: every year we waste 30 to 40% of our food supply and the amount of food wasted could fill 730 football fields. that's according to a food and

agricultural analyst at the breakthrough institute. it's a research center in oakland focussed on food and climate issues. >> we're the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally. >> reporter: she explains most of the food wasted is wasted at home. at the farm, grocery stores, and in restaurants. no matter where it happens, she said it ends up in a landfill and rots. the rotting food sends methane gas up into the air. methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. much worse for global warming and the environment. >> food waste is terrible for the climate. it's also a massive waste of water. if you toss an apple, it's like pouring 25 gallons of water down the drain. the average american does it 17 times a shopping for groceries less wasteful in terms of food but called sells

stores don't want. >> a lot of people don't know this but grocery stores have remarkably rigid beauty standards for what they'll buy and what they won't buy. >> reporter: it could be a carrot that isn't symmetrical or a lemon a few millimeters too big or small. >> there's nothing wrong with the food. it looks a little bit different. anyone that had a garden or a lemon tree growing up, they'll recognize our food. it looks like what you might find at farmer's market. >> reporter: the company can deliver to about 80% of the u.s. population. you can check if it's available in your area on the company's website. here are a few solutions. making a grocery list and sticking to it so you don't buy more than you eat. keeping a section in your fridge for food that'll go bad sooner

so you'll eat it first. freezing foods so it lasts longer and composting at home, which is liking take more than 11,000 cars off the road just by putting food scraps in a green bin instead of down the garbage disposal and to a landfill. some of the many simple solutions you can curb the waste and help greenhouse emissions. nbc bay area news. >> helpful tips there. >> yeah. really good information. >> yeah. >> for sure. just accepting the food the way it looks. >> yeah. >> kicked off the climate and crisis last month and it'll continue through the month. it's not just a one month project we're doing. we're happy to do it moving on forward in the near future. >> yeah. >> all right, jeff. the near future is rain? >> yeah. it is, you guys. we're looking at a new storm system coming our way. and i'll have data on on here i little bit. but we'll get to that immediate weather forecast right now.

and you can see on our storm ranger and satellite radar mixed in we have the cold front starting to approach right now. and we are beginning to see that rain starting to move back toward the north bay and heavier pockets offshore. the thing about the storm, it'll move rather slowly. so hang out over the north bay tonight and gradually move to the south. so some showers developing over santa rosa. we'll see things pick up in petaluma and over to sonoma over the next 30 to 45 minutes. the timeline tonight, as i mentioned, it hangs over the north bay with heavier pockets of rain and then once we hit 11:00 p.m., you can see it made progress but pretty slow. some rain over the east bay and the peninsula by 11:00 p.m. then once we hit tomorrow morning, 5:00 p.m., we'll start to see some rain forward the south bay. it will kind of linger in the south bay tomorrow. at 11:00 a.m. in the morning, we have showers over south san jose but over santa rosa get sun and

dry out. we should see it move out by tomorrow evening, for the most part. totals on this nowhere near last week. a .25 to .5 inch. in the mountains .75 to 1.5 inch range. you can see my daytime temperatures tomorrow warming up to the mid and upper 50s. sokul february weather moving on in as we run through tomorrow. on the extended forecast, we get the sunshine returning thursday, friday, saturday, sunday, and monday. you can see for the inland valleys a chance of rain moving through tomorrow. a quicker mover on wednesday for light showers and again some drying weather and plenty of sunshine for the week ahead. om stuff with you tonight that the weather team and myself we have been working on. it's a series of different storms that are available on nbcbayarea.com. and i spoke with zeke, with the

berkeley climate energy -- director of climate energy at the breakthrough institute. he had some eye-opening data on warming happening, specifically in berkeley. take a listen to this. >> so, this weather station used to have five days per year on average above 85 degrees. for the last decade, that's been about 50 days on average. and some years we've had 30 days above 85 degrees. we're seeing the signs of warming loud and clear in the data. >> what are things people can do? as a planet, as a whole, we can take collective action to reduce our emissions. >> now, you can hear it by heading to nbcbayarea.com. that was a small snippet on new data on warming in berkeley. again, we have all of these stories from our weather team and also our news team, as well, and it's a commitment we'll do on thursdays and tuesdays as we head into the weeks ahead.

now, i have to tell you, that was eye opening for me because in berkeley, we're so environmentally conscious there but you can see the temperatures are warming up. so what is happening in europe? what is happening in asia? if there are countries that are larger polluters than us, it factors into the global level. it will take everybody coming together to see some change. so you can head to nbcbayarea.com for more on that. commitment we're looking forward to in the months ahead. >> we're so interconnected. >> thank you, jeff. good information. up next, why san jose mayor is joining a push to remove a statute in downtown. tasha, did you know geico could save you hundreds on car insurance and a whole lot more? hmm. so what are you waiting for?

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san jose's mayor is joining the calls to remove a controversial statute. he delved into the history of the thomas fallon statute. you can see it here being vandalized a couple of years ago. the statute depicts fallon raising the u.s. flag in san jose during the 1876 bear flag revolt against mexico. an act some considered imperialistic. in the essay, the mayor said the statute should come down so we can focus on bigger priorities like the pandemic and recession. he writes we should ask ourself whether it's worth tormenting our neighbors with a daily reminder with an image they view as oppressive. well, february is black history month. this year we're hearing directly from the icons of the civil rights movement. in september 1957, then 14-year-old students integrated

central high school in little rock, arkansas. you've likely seen the images of federal troops escorting the so-called little rock nine past an angry mob. the torment and the threats didn't end on day one. they experienced routine harassment and even violence. in fact, four weeks before graduation day, lynn near's home was rocked by an explosion. >> i got up the next morning after my home was bombed and i went back to school because if i had not gone, they would have felt like they had won. i graduated. i am the only female of the little rock nine to participate in graduation exercise at little rock central high school. i'm proud of that diploma because i finished what i started! >> her act of courage and defiance was a catalyst for change during the civil rights movement. she and the other members of the little rock nine were awarded the congressional gold medal in

1999. >> we'll hear great stories this month. and talking about

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tonight at 6:00 p.m., a new

stall in the search, the reason it's taking san jose longer than expected to find its new christ chief and why the police union is pushing back. we'll have that story coming up right here at 6:00 p.m. and next on "nightly news." an exclusive interview with elon musk about his plans to send civilians into space. >> it almost sounds like a joyride for somebody and for the people who can afford it. is that what it is or something more substantiative than that? >> well, i think it's much more substantiative. i think, first of all, i think people will enjoy, you know, seeing things vicariously with the video and watching the mission. >> a rare interview with elon musk. hear what else he had to say including why he thinks his plan will make space travel more affordable. lester holt joins us in about a minute. yosemite is back open. >> yeah! >> the park was closed for about two weeks because of the damage from the storm. several large trees fell in the

park and somebody nearly 20 inches snow. today visitors entered on the west side of the park and opening today is the pinnacle national park. it received more than 5 inches of rainmaking it unsafe but open! >> see you again soon. tonight the historic winter storm paralyzing the northeast as we come on the air. the biggest storm in years states of emergency declared uns in 18 states up to three feet of snow new york city already seeing more than a foot dangerous driving and white out conditions mo massive flooding, al roker on where it is heading. the storm forcing many covid vaccinatio