i'm raj mathai. coming up next on nbc bay area news tonight. we are just hours away from getting rid of a lot of our covid restrictions. >> best days are not behind us, but the best days are in front of us. >> we'll look at the rules that won't change just yet. and we'll be joined by oakland mayor libby schaaf. the challenges of leading through a pandemic and what lies ahead. plus. >> these are the time when is we need to step up. >> an exclusive interview with sheryl sandberg. how you can get free meals from

facebook. good evening, this is nbc bay area news tonight. i'm raj mathai. 64 weeks of shutdowns, multi-colored tiers. seems like we've aged a decade in the past 16 months. oakland mayor libby schaaf and dr. monica gandhi join us in a minute. but let's lay out exactly what's happening. in most settings, there are no more capacity limits for businesses or most types of gatherings. the same thing goes for physical distancing, no longer required. we haven't said that ever. we should note individual businesses can set their own capacity limits but no more orders by the state. here we go with the masks. if you see a mask you got to wear it, if you don't, you don't. mask rules will be changing tomorrow. if you've vaccinated, there are a lot of places you don't have to wear those masks anymore. places like the grocery store, safe way, trader joe's,

restaurants, shopping malls or gyms. if you're not vaxxed, you still have to wear them. and businesses have the option to require them regardless of your vaccination status. how do businesses feel about this? in danville, many say they'll allow customers to go maskless while others say they're sticking with masks for everyone. >> we're right down touching people's feet, touching their shoes. we want to make sure everything's still safe and protected for us. >> bottom line, bring that mask with you just in case. by the way, there are some places you'll still have to wear your mask, vaxxed or not. muni, the airport. masks will still be required also at hospitals and clinics, and, as of right now, all schools. and here's a big one. what about wearing a mask while

you're at work? here's the deal, for many companies it's an honor system. if you say you're vaccinated, no mask, no proof required. today governor newsom announced if all goes well workplace rules could start as soon as this thursday. and we're seeing a theme here. your work has the option of requiring you to wear a mask if they so choose, regardless of what the state says. and here's a big concern. after we reopen tomorrow, could we slide backwards? just today you might have heard the uk delayed its reopening for another month because of the spread of the delta variant, and really, we've learned the last 15 or 16 months, be prepared for anything. tonight we're joined by two women who've been leading voices throughout the pandemic. we say hello to libby schaaf and dr. monica gandhi.

nice to have both of you with us, especially smiling hon this monday night. mayor shaaph, we'll start with you. there is no playbook for what we went through. oakland has a great spirit. what's biggest impact you've seen in your city in the last 16 months? >> well, i guess that's my request, tomorrow is going to be a joyous milestone. but, as you're out hugging your friends, going to that favorite restaurant, having a cold beer at a bar, just take one moment to remember all the people we have lost over this last year. all the suffering. all the economic impact. just take that moment to savor what you have, express gratitude and continue to practice great different businesses are going to have different rules. we need to roll with them and respect that not everyone is going to reenter this next phase

in the same way. >> and a personal question for you, here. forget that we're on tv here, but what was your biggest challenge of the last 15 or 16 months? what did you do right? what did you maybe do a misstep? >> i think my biggest challenge is that every racial disparity, economic disparity, everything that was wrong with the world before covid got so much worse. and that is what i hope we will bring out of this tragedy is a keener sense of that injustice and authentication to just doing away with these disparities. and as far as things that i think we did right, closing the divide is going to be my favorite, the flex streets, having our streets used for commerce, for community, for culture, i don't think people want to go back on those. and we are also not going back

on making sure that every oakland student is fully connected to the internet. that digital literacy is something we have to continue to roll forward. >> can we ask maybe where you had a misstep throughout this process? >> you know, i just feel through those first chaotic weeks the information was changing every few minutes, it felt like. and to not be able to give our small businesses, our families a clear sense of what to expect was excruciating. our ability to get our unhoused off of the streets and into safety, those hotels that we stood up. i wish it had happened faster. i wish we had found more room to put our beloved, unsheltered

neighbors into. these are things we will continue to work on. the slowness with the unemployment insurance. people's access to the benefits that they qualified for but may or may not have known about,and if they did, they were so frustrated in getting access to them. government has got to be less irritating. it has to become more user-friendly. >> we appreciate those comments, we really do, mayor shaaph. dr. gandhi, we used to say medicine and politics don't mix. we discovered they certainly do. what happened here in terms of our rules in the last 15 months. did we get it right looking back for the most part, or were there just a lot of glaring deficiencies? >> you know, we had to close down at the beginning because like mayor shaaph said we didn't know a lot about this virus, and we did some really different things in california, which is how we rolled out the vaccine.

i think there were three major mistakes made in california, which i've been pretty open about in public appearances the one is i think our school closures and the fact that we're 50 out of 50, out of all the states in getting children back into in-person learning, we have about 20% children back. is, we've stayed persistently at the bottom. i think we have to have a referendum on that and understand what happened. especially because mental health effects are really showing themselves with the cdc report last week, there are a lot of teenagers who have suicidal ideations. the second thing in california that i think we did wrong was close the outdoors. that is not what you close with a respiratory virus like this particular virus. you want to close inside or restrict inside. because if you close the outside people will go inside. the third is, i want us to

celebrate the effectiveness of the vaccines and municipality. immunity. masking is a tool. i wrote seven papers on masks, but really, vaccination is the key. feel comfortable with some of these rules and don't be anxious, and i think our california leaders should tell us how effective the vaccines are. >> and dr. gandhi, you have one of the leading mayors in the country. were the mayors handcuffed by the rules? and should they be handcuffed when it comes to public health discussions? >> they were. in the sense that everyone had to follow california policy. i think many places like oakland and i know mayor shaaph that we had a connection there. with a big international conference. i know that individual mayors

worked really, really hard. i think oakland really worked hard in that sense, but i think everyone was, we can never be in individual counties. we can never be any less-restrictive than california allows us to be. >> should we have opened up, further, mayor shaaph, when you hear dr. gandhi talking about this? earlier? >> the one place i agree with her was getting the kids back to school. that was taking a toll on our children that i believe is not done, not just academically, but psychologically. we did see huge depression. and i think that impacts of that, along with the lost learning is a debt that we will have to be paying for quite some time. it was frustrating. it felt political, and i hope it is behind us. >> dr. gandhi, the uk postponing its reopening because of the delta variant, can't the same thing happen here? >> no, you know, i think this is

belying the fundamental principle. all the vaccines work in terms of the t-cell response. the cdc has asked us not to test asymptomatic people. and their hospitalizations are totally low, staying flat, and because they're doing that unnecessary testing their cases are up. i hope california will follow cdc guidance and only test people who are symptomatic and then we won't see increased cases. >> thank you, dr. gandhi for your expertise. mayor shaaph, i know there's a big vote tomorrow with the county having a meeting regarding the a's ballpark proposal. what are you trying to convince the county to do, or are you, in order to help with this ballpark proposal? >> we're trying to convince them

it is a win-win. not just about keeping our beloved a's rooted in oakland t is a financial win, a win for community benefits, for much-needed public infrastructure, parks, affordable housing. it is a win all around. and under former redevelopment, the county's participation would have been automatic. now we need their vote or approval or at least a signal that they are going to be in with us, like they would have been under redevelopment. it's not getting into the sports business, it is getting into the redevelopment business and the great community, long into the future business. >> we know how you feel about that ballpark proposal. mayor shaaph, thank you for your time, we'll see you down the road. our question of the day now, we posted it on facebook, twitter and instagram, everyday about noon.

what questions do you have about opening. when will masks no longer be required at schools. the answer isn't clear. the mask mandates are still in place. the state health department says it will update its guidelines sometime this month. spirited libations has a request. are they going to be required in community colleges and universities. that's also up in the air. while in-person classes will resume this fall, safety measures will be announced as campuses continue to work with their local public health agencies. the california community college system, which has 116 schools across the state are also working to answer the question. so, again, stay tuned as the fall rolls around. one more note, if you've been having trouble keeping track of these rules, we get it. we've got some answers for you. head to nbcbayarea.com. click on the link at the top of your screen that says june 15,

what to know. you'll find comprehensive guides there, including our digital, original video, to mask or not mask. that's on nbcbayarea.com. buckle up. up next, try to stay cool here. could be dangerous. we're in for a scorching hot and dry week. and this is not a good sign. a brush fire not far from home in san jose. it appears to have a surprising case for this fire. plus. >> i'm here, but my neighbor wasn't able to come. can i take an extra box? >> we're talking to facebook coo sheryl sandberg about a cause close to her heart.

here are some of the other stories we're watching tonight. first, wind helped spread it, but weather was not the primary cause of the fire today, its with a balloon, if you can believe it. it was sparked bay metallic mylar balloon getting caught up in power lines. the fire started around 11:30 this morning around silicon valley road and basking ridge very close to a neighborhood. crews with cal fire and the san jose fire department hit it from the air and the ground. about 35 acres burned, but thankfully no injuries and no homes were damaged. for a brief moment you could actually see the smoke from the national weather service.

tweeted this out. you can see the quick puff of white smoke. another story we're walking, the road to tokyo goes through omaha, as in nebraska. the u.s. swimming trial the happening now. the world record holder for nearly seven years and a three-time world champion in the 300 free. josh prenot, look for him in the 100 breaststroke. again, the u.s. olympic swimming trials. another story we're watching, the push to get more californians vaccinated. fun things, disney land passes, lakers tickets. the state's going to give away

six all-expense paid trips to vaccination winners in california. and any californian who has at least one dose is automatically entered. they are to various california hotspots, palm springs, san diego and of course here in san francisco. >> we are confident these vaccine incentives have worked. and that's why we want to continue in that spirit. >> tomorrow the governor will announce ten grand prize vaccine lottery winners. remember those lotteries here? each of those people will get $1.5 million. facebook is taking a role in the fight against food insecurities. the numbers, though, are bleak. let's start with that. it's believed that one in three kids this the bay area are unsure where their next meal will come from. facebook is trying to change that. facebook chefs, yep, they have a lot of chefs on staff, are preparing 600 meals a week for

children and families nearby in the ravens wood district. it's a program spearheaded by the company's coo, very well-known, cheryl sandberg. she spoke to scott budman. scott joins us now. facebook in the peninsula, just loaded with multi-million dollar homes. but there are several communities and pockets where kids don't know where they're getting their next meal. >> that's one of the goals facebook had and one of the conditions facebook had, in moving into the menlo park headquarters. and we're talking about sheryl sandberg who is known as someone who can pull things like this together. for one thing, facebook kept paying its chefs. the chef the step in and they worked to distribute hundreds of meals a week. >> they volunteered. they're preparing up to 600 meals, and we're giving that out

to the local community. i go to the opening with my fiance and our children and talk to people in the community and see the great work that the facebook team, loaves and fishes, our non-profit partner are doing, and yes, i am definitely feeling really exhilarated. >> it's really important. summer school is coming. because of covid, more kids are going to be in summer school than usual, and that means a lot of food insecurity. facebook stepping up saying we're going to handle this through the summer. they want good pr out of this. they're going to call every reporter in the market or the country, i don't think they did. >> we've done stories on good news and bad news. it's always good when they say we've got a heads up on something good or bad. that's what went on with this. the families need the meals. and there are lots of other groups. facebook is just saying hey,

we're going to lend some support and some money. >> the families that need it are very appreciative. if you want to see the full interview with scott and sheryl sandberg, it's interesting. we've posted it at nbcbayarea.com. let's take you outside on this monday night. you can see the fog. it is chilly, but it's going to change. lot of hot temperatures are rolling in. jeff ranieri's going to join us next.

okay.

did you see this? this is a big deal. you look at photos of big sur's most popular trail to pfeiffer falls. it's back open for the first time in 12 years. the save the redwoods league joined with the california state parks to get this trail reopened. in 2008, the basin fire had wiped out the bridges that hikers would use to reach pfeiffer falls. a series of smaller fires and natural disasters delayed things. a new route was designed and built at a cost of $2 million. jeff ranieri is with us. >> beautiful. >> one of the most beautiful spots in the planet. i was there as a kid, wondering how come we haven't been back. well, it's been closed for 12 year. >> it looks like a good place to go and put everything into perspective. >> what we have around here, sometimes we forget it's gorgeous. >> we've got this hot, hot weather. >> coming, right? >> it definitely is. it's all about this area of high pressure moving in from the

desert southwest bringing us dangerous heat. in livermore we're up to 100 wednesday. 106 thursday, a slow dropoff, by sunday, 97. next week it does get cooler, and that will be a lot more enjoyable. let's bring you right into tomorrow morning. we're starting off with 50s and patchy fog near the coast and the bay. and temperatures will warm up tomorrow. again, not 100s just yet. but it's going to feel hotter. 85 in morgan hill, 89 in concord, upper 80s in santa rosa and we stay with the chilly 60s there throughout the coastline. on my seven-day forecast, we get warmer, wednesday, thursday and friday, and then 70s start to return. the hottest day will be on thursday. and then by this weekend we'll start to see things going on down. thursday, raj, that's the day. got to watch out. >> go and play in the pool. >> we got to be careful there. thanks for joining us at 7:00. for everyone here at nbc bay

area, including all our producers, working remotely from home and in the newsroom, thank you, we'll see you again at 11:00. did you know that geico's whole 15 minutes thing... that came from me. really. my first idea was “in one quarter of an hour, your savings will tower... over you. figuratively speaking." but that's not catchy, is it?

that's not going to swim about in your brain. so i thought, what about... 15 minutes. 15 percent. serendipity. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. featuring fresh artisan bread, layered with tender seasoned steak, sautéed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and smothered with melty american cheese. the new cheese steak melt, now at togo's. how far would you go for a togo? [hippo groans melodically] [iguana belts major 3rd] [gator reverb] [splash] [singing indri sings] [elephant trumpets] [buffalo punish timpani] [cassowary crescendo] ♪♪ [goat does a sick vibrato] ♪♪

i'm getting married! >> wait, is that already a wedding band on gwen's finger? why the horrific scene is being re-enacted. >> and that's why i wrote paul. v vin dcht i echt scht lcht