where did all the money go?

good afternoon. i'm audrey asistio. welcome to nbc bay area news at 4:30. our ian cull is talking with parents and police about the school embezzlement arrest. we are also tracking other stories on this thursday, including a tragic story in pleasanton. a family of four killed in a car crash. what we are learning about the victims and how it all happened. also, street rebels on the loose in sanford this go. our sergio quintana is showing how they are trying to slow down traffic to try and make the streets safer. and we seen the construction for years and now thousands of dollars from the schools account. ian, what is this investigation

unfolding? it started when -- earlier this week. -- elementary school in san jose's willow glen neighborhood. police believe over a four year period, the 51-year-old stole more than $400,000 than the groups account. she left her position last summer, and when the new board took over, they noticed serious discrepancies. they contacted san jose police. investors claim that she wrote 45 checks to herself and her husband. >> these were supposed be reimbursement checks. for services that weren't even rendered. right? so she had invoices that were not true, were not real. >> that's a good amount of checks, ian. how is this affecting all the kids at the school? >> this is money that the kids and parents raised at school, like through walkathon's and things for years. years of fundraisers. it's money that they used to

fund arts, music, and other programs. because of the alleged thefts, parents say that science and recess programs were canceled at the and that the police and the da's office had done their due diligence to finally bring charges. knight faces three felony counts for grand theft and forgery. we're told that she had her bail set at $80,000 late this afternoon. and we'll have more details in the next part of our story coming up at 530. all right. we'll see you then. ian. thank you for that preview. appreciate it. antioch unified school district superintendent has removed herself from overseeing investigations on worker bullying complaints. now, this comes after our investigative unit reported on concerns about her director of facilities, ken turnage. some employees say turnage's bad

behavior includes putting a worker's desk on a roof. they add that he's managed to get away with it because he's good friends with school superintendent stephanie anello and her husband, antioch's former police chief, turnage. anello and her husband have not responded to any of our questions, and an email sent to board members yesterday before she recused herself, superintendent anello says she launched two investigations, one on the overall situation and the other looking at specific concerns reported by nbc bay area last week. anello also says she has voluntarily removed herself from the investigative proceedings. we did ask the district multiple times who will be conducting the investigations , and we have yet to receive an answer to board members question if those investigations will truly be independent, given that some of the complaints are against the superintendent herself. if they're holding a special board meeting tonight at 7:00 to talk about possible disciplinary actions against

her. well, an east bay community is in mourning and police are investigating after a deadly crash killed a family of four. this happened at around 9:00 last night on foothill road near stone ridge drive in pleasanton. police have released very few details at this point, but two say adults and two children were inside that car. witnesses say it appears that the electric vehicle they were in left the road, hit something and then burst into flames. at the crash site, there is a light pole that's down significant damage to a tree. police will only say they are investigating right now, and they do not suspect foul play. okay, now to the story of safe street rebels in san francisco. they are at it again. they put up signs in hopes of making drivers be more aware of pedestrians and cyclists. and once again, the city sent out crews to remove them. arcadia quintana is chasing the story for us today. so, sergio, i guess maybe just start by telling us more about

the signs and the group. well, so safe street rebel is an anonymous >> reporter: we've seen well, so what they did, as you mentioned, they immediately removed them. the signs were up for apparently two days. and this morning they sent crews out to remove those signs. they say

they didn't meet the standards at the agency has to go through in order to get these these applications installed. and they say that there's a there's a process to get that done. and, and so they are they and they were also kind of surprised in part because they hadn't gotten any requests. they say the agency says to have these installations in place now coming up on nbc, bay area news at six. we'll have more on the installation and what the group is telling us that put them there. and also something else that they did on this corridor here on steiner street that's coming up on nbc bay area news at six. all right. we'll see you at six. thank you for that preview. retail vacancy in san francisco is now at an all time high. that's according to real estate company cushman and wakefield. citywide, the vacancy rate is just under 8. but in union square, it's more than double that at 20. a number of retailers, including the north

face, have already left others, including macy's, which is the heart of union square, has announced plans to close its flagship store. a lot of people say they believe the closures are connected to the rise of crime in the city. meanwhile, san francisco city leaders are celebrating the opening of a new waterfront park. mayor london breed helped cut the ribbon this morning at the new china basin park. it's on the border of the south of market and mission bay neighborhoods. park has five acres of active open space, a sandy play area along the shoreline, fenced off a dog zone and a garden. it's also a great views of oracle park and golden gate bridge, and this park is a great addition, especially because right here where mccovey cove is, we're hoping that somebody gets the ball past mccovey cove, over to the china basin park, who knows? it may happen. you never know. the china basin park is part of the new mixed use mission rock community, which has more than

500 new homes, along with retail and office space. all right, let's go ahead and turn now to our weather as we take a live look outside. depending on where you are, you may have seen a little more sun today. but the cooling trend does continue. so let's go ahead and bring in our meteorologist vianey arana live on location this afternoon for us. hi, diana. what's going on out there? hey, audrey. you know, it's a good day when they send the meteorologists outside to talk about the weather. you said it. it's a little bit cooler. we've got a light breeze going on. and if you look at the clouds, they're definitely in sight. we had that marine layer showing up around the coastline. so temperature wise, we're doing great. now i'll let you know why i'm here in a second. but first let's take a look at your microclimate forecast so you can take a closer idea of the temperatures heading into tonight and of course heading into tomorrow. so notice by about 10:00, overnight lows are going to fall into those 50s for san francisco. 55, san jose 57. as you wake up into tomorrow, similar conditions, but eventually into the afternoon. we will stay in that cooling

pattern. we're talking mid 60s either around the coastline or in through inland areas. the good news, though, is that cooling pattern will eventually warm up a cold front is going to sweep through on friday. heading into saturday, warmer weather will leap us into the 70s. look at concord 71, tracey 73. and with that cold front heading into friday, the biggest difference you're going to notice is going to be the increase in the wind speeds. gusty 20, 30, 40 plus miles per hour will be a possibility, especially on some of those higher elevation areas above 5000ft. so keep this in mind heading into your friday forecast. but the good news is, it does look like your weekend is setting up for a fantastic, beautiful weekend to celebrate earth week. coming back out here live, i told you i was going to let you know why i'm out here, so sneak peek. yes, we're at an elementary school and yes, we're talking about earth week, the environment and our next generation of what will make the biggest impacts to our planet. so please make sure to join me coming up in just a few minutes. i'm going to have all the details of some san jose schools taking over the environmental

impacts. audrey asistio trying to lead the way in the fight against climate change. the milestone california just reach when it comes to clean energy. also, using a.i. for schoolwork. we talk with the tech ceo about how often it's happening and what parents need to know. but before we had to break, we want to know what training story you would like to see later on in this newscast. i have a pull up right now on instagram. a lot of you have already voted but similar time -- still more time to vote right now. barbers say boy in traffic.

welcome back.

>> net neutrality was around for a long time, but as of today, it's back again. why is this important? your content, whether you are on a phone or on a computer, it will stream as fast as i can, no matter what company. it basically keeps everyone in silicon valley equal. users like it, companies like it, and it is back. >> okay. it's a big deal. i'm sure everyone is looking forward to the full story. scott, thank you so much. and east bay walmart is closing for good. in fremont, spokesperson says the store just did not perform as well as projected and will close its doors next month. walmart says all employees will be able to transfer to another store. the company has another store actually just a few miles away. if you're the parent of a

junior high or high school student, you are probably familiar with turnitin . a lot of teachers process papers through turnitin. it's an added defense against -- chris karen says students using a.i. to write their essays is becoming a growing problem inside the classrooms. >> do your own work. writing is critical to building critical thinking skills, analytical skills, can vacation skills. having a i draft your paper creates a student, not as an author, but as an editor, which shortcuts learning. >> karen says that it has its own a.i. model that can detect chabad authored work. so far, the software has scanned about 200 million papers. a major milestone reached in the state's clean energy goals this week. governor newsom gave the

progress report today at a solar farm in davis. he says the state is bringing on more sources of clean electricity than ever before. that includes the use of 100% clean electricity. the governor says 40 of the past 48 days, clean energy exceeded great demand, consumed at one point during the day. that's compared to only seven days, all of last year. >> this is simply unprecedented. the fifth largest economy in the world, 11 days the street, breaking all records, 100% green, wind, water, solar. it's just extraordinary. >> the governor also says -- than ever before. as our work week -- earth week coverage continues, we are highlighting a school educating

our future environmental warriors. let's turn back over to vianey arana live at the unveiling of a really exciting new project, vianey . >> reporter: it is! not only to do that than by planting goodies. but also when we're talking about sustainability, it's important to mention the factor of riding your bike, getting out and enjoying nature, reducing those emissions. and you see the cones right out there. it's called walk and roll, but the kids get to bring their bikes, their scooters, all of that good stuff to ride around. they're going to bring their parents. community leaders are going to be here. and of course, we've got kids. you can see our set up right over there. of course we've got our very own tent, but the weather is fantastic. not too hot, not too cold.

>> this is our second year, doing this program and our kids and community can contribute tremendously to this. this year, we are unveiling our therapeutic garden, as well as -- yes, really. >> reporter: you can see it over there. and over there. tell me what we are trying to accomplish here? >> coming back to covid -- from covid, we noticed a lot of anxiety and depression with students. knowing that, we wanted to create an avenue for the children to go and to really destress and this garden is a commitment from our school and our district towards the social, emotional well-being of our students. this garden is planted with all of the natural herbs and plants

which are native to california. >> reporter: that is an important component. native. that helps boost our ecosystems. >> exactly. it's structured in a way that it kind of appeals to all the five senses. so as it develops, as it grows, that is our hope, that the children, if they are having a hard time, if staff is having a hard time, that the place that they can really go and ground themselves. >> and that is important. >> reporter: what are some tips for parents and as other educators to talk about the climate with other kids? >> i think the best thing you can do is take the children out. let them experience nature. one thing that we do very frequently at our school is take them on nature trips. show them the bugs and the plans and everything that constitutes a -- environment.

all because because the teachers are invested, the community is invested, and we really want our children to be >> reporter: and you heard her here first, take the kids out, have them enjoy nature. you have future scientists in your home right now, so kids, parents, if you're watching this -- audrey, i will send it back to you. the nfl draft kicks off, the 49ers have a first round

pick. it's a big round for them. they are scheduled to have 10 pics near the end of the first round. tonight is just round one. two and three are tomorrow, and it all wraps up on saturday. the world have done that? travel to every single country. more people have actually flown into space. oh, wow. yeah. so we're going to meet her. check out her pictures. that's tonight's bay area. proud. it's all coming up at five. can't wait to see your story. all right janelle thank you. we'll see you in a little

bit. still to come top trending story is voted by you on my instagram poll. also we've all been there rushing to get in boarding group a on southwest. but could that be changing what the airline ceo is saying? we're back in two minutes.

i'm chris kimura, live in palo alto, where we are supporting our schools. our friends and family giving tree are behind us here. they're helping to pack up supplies for kids for the new school year. yeah, i know summer is not here yet, but we are all ready trying to collect school supplies for kids in need. family giving tree wants to give thousands of kids the opportunity to have what they need to go back to school. you can join us here at town and country village in palo alto and make a donation. either new school supplies or a cash donation. and i have an incentive. audrey, pay attention for just a second here. we have free ice cream. yes, this is from the penny. what i have here is lemon poppy seed ice cream

with follow me, a toasted marshmallow fluff coating. i think that's kind of like a lemon meringue pie in a cone. and it's delicious. if you can't join us in person and get one of theseelicious ice cream cones in exchange for your donation, you can scan the qr code we're going to put on the screen right now, ■and you can make a contribution from the comfort of your home to help us in supporting our schools. and yes, i know i probably have marshmallow fluff all over my face, audrey, but it is worth it to support our schools. back to you. looks delicious chris. share the wealth. maybe bring some back for us. it is all right. thank you. all right you guys here it is. top trending stories voted by you on my instagram poll a young child is safe today thanks to two fast acting barbers. so take a look. surveillance video shows the kid you see right there just running down the middle of the street toward a busy intersection. this is in hartford, connecticut, you see, right there two barbers who were in the middle of cutting hair in their barbershop, spotted the child through the

window, rushed out the door, and then you're going to see right here. see that busy intersection they scoop up the child just in time. so that kid's mother was actually found at a nearby bus stop. she said she had looked away for just one quick second, so she was shocked with what happened. but very thankful for the two heroic barbers. and as always, i'll be posting links to the other stories you voted for on my instagram. okay, if you are a southwest flier, buckle up for a potential change. ceo bob jordan tells cnbc that the airline could abandon its open seating system. southwest has long stuck by its simple model with a single economy class. no seating assignments. meanwhile rivals like united and delta have seen increased revenue from premium seating options. jordan's seating change reveal comes on the heels of the airline announcing production on a new fleet of planes continues to be delayed. thank you so much

for joining us at 430. janelle and garvin are working on the 5:00 newscast next, and we are back in just o minutes.tw

four, is killed in a fiery car crash. the new details were uncovering at this hour. also, protests continue to grow on college campuses across the country, calling for an end to the war in gaza. the california university that is altering its graduation ceremony plans because of it and making it in the bay is getting more and more difficult in the south bay. the latest lows in housing inventory that appear to be sticking around for a while. good thursday everyone. the news at five starts right now. thanks so much for joining us. i'm janelle wang and i'm garvin thomas a devastating crash in the east bay. pleasanton police are investigating a bizarre solo vehicle crash that killed a

family of four. it happened last night on foothill road near stone ridge drive. nbc bay area's christie smith spoke with neighbors near that crash site. all of a sudden i hear this huge crash like a pop pop, like something like hits something so . so i ran, told my husband. i go, honey, i heard a huge crash. what rachelle dean heard around nine last night was the sound of a deadly accident. her husband had went to investigate late and found a tragedy unfolding. a car left the road hit a tree bursting into flames. i climbed a little hill and that's when i saw the car. the pole was down. a horrific scene on foothill, a burning car, two adults and two children died. i just said a prayer for the victims and their family, because no one should have to